Special Education, minor with grad track option leading to Special Education, MEd

Academically strong undergraduate students in departments other than educational psychology (EPSY) who have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better may apply for permission to pursue a grad track pathway minor in SPED. Acceptance into the minor will enable them to both finish their coursework for a bachelor’s degree in their major programs, while also transfer up to 12 graduate credit hours into the Master of Education degree. Upon acceptance into the pathway minor, students will take 4 graduate and 2 undergraduate courses. The four graduate courses will count towards the master’s degree in special education, pending a grade of B or better.

Admission requirements

Students who have completed 75 credit hours of undergraduate course work may apply for admission into the grad track program in special education by submitting the following:

Submission of official GRE scores is strongly encouraged, but not required.
At least two written letters of recommendation from individuals who can give evidence of the candidate’s reading, critical thinking, writing and quantitative skills. These letters must be sent from the recommender, signed and on letterhead. Preference is given to letters from full-time EPSY faculty and/or the UNT faculty from whom the applicant has taken upper-division or graduate courses.
Resume or vita that includes educational and any professional experiences.
A personal statement (1–3 pages) stating the applicant’s goals and rationale for applying to the desired degree concentration. Please describe any related job experiences or any relevant research and/or evaluation experiences.

Students meeting the grad track requirements will be notified to start the graduate program after completing 90 credit hours of course work toward their undergraduate degree program. This official notification is required for taking graduate-level courses.

Program policies

Students with an overall GPA of 3.50 may apply to the program and to the graduate school for the grad track option, which includes 6 hours of undergraduate courses and up to 12 hours of graduate courses in special education. Following successful completion of the undergraduate degree, students may transfer the 12 graduate hours into the MEd with a major in special education, concentrations in autism intervention, high incidence disabilities or educational diagnostician.

Students admitted into the grad track option must earn a grade point of 3.0 or higher in each of the four graduate courses taken. Full admission to the UNT graduate school is obtained upon completion of the undergraduate degree. Please see Graduate Catalog for other requirements for the MEd degree.

The 18-hour minor with grad track option will consist of

EPSY 5000 - Introduction to Educational Psychology (replaces EPSY 3000 )
EDSP 5240 - Survey Research Methods in Education (replaces EDSP 3240 )
EDSP 5330 - Classroom and Behavior Management Strategies for Exceptional Learners (replaces EDSP 4340 )

One of the following options (3 hours):

For autism intervention concentration: EDSP 5310 - Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder (replaces EDSP 3410 )
For high incidence disabilities concentration: EDSP 5740 - Learning Strategies for Promoting Proficiency in Reading and Language Arts for Exceptional Learners (replaces EDSP 4330 )
For educational diagnostician concentration: EDSP 5510 - Educational Appraisal of Exceptional Learners (replaces EDSP 4320 )
Plus two other EDSP courses listed under special education minor, with advisor’s approval.

All remaining courses for Special Education minor must be completed.