Provide education for all
As we face a national teacher shortage, the U.S. Department of Education estimates that about 7.3 million students aged 3 to 21 receive special accommodations each year, nearly a third of whom have learning disabilities. That means about 1 in 20 students—about 2.5 million—may require special education.
With your Master of Education (MEd) in Teaching Special Education from Regis, you can get the real-world knowledge and experience to provide much-needed teaching support for this population.
Overview
For new and current teachers
As an educator or an aspiring educator, you’re committed to serving students of all backgrounds and abilities.
Our MEd in Teaching Special Education is open to licensed educators and aspiring teachers alike. If you have a passion for teaching students with learning disabilities and special considerations, you can turn that drive into a meaningful career. Coursework is accessible regardless of your academic and professional experience, though those with a teaching background may finish quicker.
Overview
Accelerated and flexible
We designed this accelerated hybrid program to fit around your professional and personal obligations while still providing crucial in-classroom experience.
Our program features just 10 courses, four of which are fully online, and can be completed in about one year for students with a teaching background. Students who don’t have teaching experience are required to take one additional semester to build further experience, qualify for initial K-12 licensure, and prepare to teach special education.
Overview
Why choose Regis College?
- Apply with no GRE, and finish in one year with prior teaching experience or 16 months with no teaching background.
- Benefit from a flexible schedule featuring 8-week course lengths and four 100% online courses.
- Prepare for the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure required to teach K-12 students with moderate disabilities.
- Gain real-world knowledge through three teaching opportunities.
- Earn an education from an institution regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
Better special education
Whether you’re an experienced teacher or a learner aspiring to teach special education, our Master of Education in Teaching Special Education can help you develop the skills, get the practice, and build the immersive real-world skills to thrive—and to support learners of all types.
We offer an accelerated, one-year program designed around building a better, more inclusive classroom experience that challenges and engages students of all backgrounds and abilities.
Program Details
Real-world experience
In our accelerated MEd program, you’ll get real-world teaching experience in three unique classroom opportunities.
The first two of these are 20-hour experiences, one in a special education classroom and the other in an inclusion classroom. The third is a student teaching practicum placement that takes place in your final semester. This placement includes 150 hours of field teaching experience for students with teaching backgrounds and 300 hours for learners new to the teaching field.
Program Details
Licensure and endorsement
The MEd at Regis gives you the opportunity to earn two professional credentials crucial for teaching in Massachusetts.
- Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement. Learn to approach English language learners (ELL) through socially, educationally, and culturally appropriate classroom practice.
- Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTELs). Prepare you to sit for this exam, which is a requirement in order to teach K-12 students with moderate disabilities.
Program Details
Approachable and streamlined
You want to build your skills and earn your degree as quickly as possible—so you can start making a difference in students’ lives.
With Regis, you can. Courses are just 8 weeks long, so you can immerse yourself and focus on just one or two main topics at a time for maximum educational effectiveness. Four courses are entirely online and can be completed when and where it’s convenient for you, and the on-campus classes have flexible daytime, nighttime, and weekend sessions available.
Program Details
Get a head start
Did you know you can take up to two graduate courses at Regis before being accepted into the program? That means you can get an early start before you even apply. This adds flexibility to your timing and helps you streamline your educational experience once you are officially accepted.
Please contact the graduate admission office at 781.768.7330 or graduatedepartment@regiscollege.edu for more information.
Learn to be the educator your students need
The MEd in Teaching Special Education degree comprises 10 courses (30 credit hours) and can be completed in about one year studying full time. The curriculum consists of eight education-focused courses covering crucial topics, theories, and techniques related to general and special education, as well as three interdisciplinary courses to round out your knowledge.
Four courses include practical, real-world components to help you prepare to work in a true classroom environment. Requirements for these field placements may vary by course.
ED 502 Initial Practicum/Seminar †
The Initial Practicum is the culminating course for the initial license component. It offers students the opportunity to reflect, analyze, and integrate knowledge gained from coursework within the program, as well as best practices through their student experience. Candidate's performance is evaluated through the use of the Candidates Assessment of Performance (CAP) evaluation system as mandated by DESE. A weekly seminar component is part of this course. Here, candidates will discuss and address current issues as demonstrated in their classroom placements. A total of 300 hours of field placement (PK-8 or 5-12) are required.
ED 515 Contemporary Issues in Special Education
This course addresses the historical, philosophical, and ethical perspectives of education services for students with special needs. Federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to special education will be studied. Legal and educational terminology and definitions for students with mild to moderate disabilities will be discussed. Knowledge of services provided by other agencies, such as augmentative and alternative communicative, assistive technology, development of an individualized educational plan (IEP), and relevant current literature are covered in this course.
ED 517 Assessment of Students with Special Needs
This course will address the principles of both formal and informal assessment of children and adolescents with mild to moderate disabilities. It will provide experience with informal and formal assessment measures. Basic concepts of measurement will be covered so that students can evaluate test instruments and interpret test results knowledgeably. Current issues in the field of assessment will be discussed and ethical issues emphasized throughout the course.
ED 518 Literacy Development Including Special Needs Teaching †
This course addresses the significant theories, approaches, instructional practices, and programs for developing reading skills and reading comprehension in children and adolescents with and without disabilities. It includes a study of phonemic awareness, phonics, principals, and instructional practices through the reading/writing processes; the development of reading/writing skills; and the transition to content area texts. Diagnosis and assessment of reading skills, including formal and informal reading assessment instruments, will be examined. Emphasis will be on differentiated instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners. A field-based experience is required.d interventions and preparing for undesired side-effects are also discussed.
ED 521 Classroom Management for Students with Special Needs in Inclusive Classrooms*
This course will address classroom management strategies, facilitating appropriate behavior, and meeting the social/emotional needs of students with moderate disabilities. Emphasis will be placed on preventive discipline and on classroom environments and techniques that have been found effective for students with special needs. Theoretical models of behavior management will be discussed and compared, including their application for preparing and maintaining students with disabilities in general education classrooms.
ED 523 Sheltered English Immersion Teaching
This course is designed to prepare teachers to address the individuality of English language learners (ELL) including social and cultural considerations, second language acquisition processes, and English language arts and literacy development in the preK-12 classroom. This course is aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and the WIDA English Language Development Standards and covers best practices in the field of ELL instruction. Note: Successful completion of this course leads to SEI endorsement through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education ONLY if completed as part of a master’s in education program; this is NOT a standalone endorsement course
ID 510 Natural Sciences in the Classroom I
This course is designed to enhance students' understanding of mathematics and science concepts and develop an awareness of their interdisciplinary nature. Through lectures, labs, and other hands-on approaches, basic principles and concepts important for teaching math and science are covered with a focus on modifying the curriculum and instructional materials to meet the needs of students with mild and moderate disabilities. The Massachusetts Science and Technology Curriculum Framework and the Massachusetts Mathematics Curriculum Framework are used as basic references.
ID 512 Humanities in the Classroom*
In this interdisciplinary course, the focus is on expanding students' knowledge of the humanities. Candidates will explore genres, literary elements, and literary techniques in art, literature, poetry and music and look for ways to integrate the humanities into the curriculum. As well, candidates will study perspectives of education and society through the expressions of art through the writing process for students with mild and moderate disabilities. Discovery in the humanities can be a basis in which teachers may develop curriculum and enhance classroom teaching for students with mild and moderate disabilities.
ID 514 Social Sciences in the Classroom*
Using the interdisciplinary area of American studies as a focus to study the social sciences, this course is organized around the five themes of geography to introduce concepts in history and civics, supported by infusions from anthropology, economics, and sociology. Applications to reading, mathematics, art, and music will enlarge the scope of the course to include connections to the sciences and humanities. The course will be interactive and include project work. The Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework is used as the main course reference point for specific application of these ideas to the classroom, with particular attention to special needs students.
ED 519A Curriculum Adaptations for Students with Special Needs (grades PK to eight)* †
This course will address students with moderate disabilities and the design or modification of curriculum, instructional materials, and general education classroom environments for students with moderate disabilities. Emphasis will be placed on differentiated instruction that focuses on developing appropriate strategies for meeting the needs of diverse learners. It will align the principles of inclusion with their educational implementation by exploring and applying instructional strategies and curricular adaptations that are most effective in the general education setting. A field-based experience is required. ED 519A emphasizes grades PK-8; ED 519B emphasizes grades 5-12.
ED 519B Curriculum Adaptations for Students with Special Needs (grades five to 12)* †
This course will address students with moderate disabilities and the design or modification of curriculum, instructional materials, and general education classroom environments for students with moderate disabilities. Emphasis will be placed on differentiated instruction that focuses on developing appropriate strategies for meeting the needs of diverse learners. It will align the principles of inclusion with their educational implementation by exploring and applying instructional strategies and curricular adaptations that are most effective in the general education setting. A field-based experience is required. ED 519A emphasizes grades PK-8; ED 519B emphasizes grades 5-12.
* These courses are online.
† These courses have experiential components. ED 518, ED 519A, and ED 519B require field placement, and ED 502 requires a total of 300 field placement hours (PK-8 or 5-12). Non-licensure degree only students will substitute ED 610 Educational Research Seminar for ED 502
About Regis College
For more than 95 years, Regis College has supported learners in their journey to realize their full potential, reach their personal and professional goals, and become forces of good in the world. It’s our mission to help empower people to challenge themselves as they prepare to serve and lead through education.
With our focus on student success and our commitment to social justice and service, we help students in the greater Boston area and around the globe achieve more and go further.
College Details
Diverse learning opportunities
Regis College is a coed university 12 miles west of Boston in Weston, Mass., founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston.
With more than 3,200 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students enrolled on campus and in fully online graduate programs, Regis provides an academically rigorous education within the schools of nursing, arts and sciences, business and communication, and health sciences.
College Details
A culture of curiosity
Our School of Arts and Sciences gives students an avenue through which to engage with and study a range of subjects, including biomedical engineering, criminal justice, cybersecurity, education, environmental sustainability, and the humanities. Here, we promote universal skills like creative thinking, problem solving, and communication through theory and real-world practice.
The School of Arts and Sciences also houses our Public Heritage Institute, as well as the Pi Gamma Mu Honor Society.
College Details
Via Veritas Vita
Our motto, Via Veritas Vita, translates to “the way and the truth and the light.” These words drive our mission of empowering learners through knowledge to live meaningful lives and contribute to our global society.
Today, Regis boasts an alumni network more than 20,000 strong. This supportive, tight-knit community has a history of professional success in the job market: 97% of our graduates find full-time work or pursue further education within six months of graduation.
Priscilla Boerger, EdD, MEd
Dr. Priscilla Boerger previously served as an elementary school lead teacher and as faculty in the School of Education at Lynn University. At Regis, she is the department of education chair, program director of the EdD in Higher Education Leadership, MEd in Teaching Special Education, and the MEd in Student Success programs.
Her research explores college access and transition for first-generation students, women college presidents, and diversity/equity/social justice in the classroom.