College of Charleston's School of Education, Health, and Human Performance

The Master of Arts in Teaching in special education is designed for individuals with undergraduate degrees in areas other than education who want to become licensed special education teachers. The program includes three areas of study: emotional disabilities, learning disabilities and mental disabilities. The program of study currently requires a minimum of 37 hours of graduate credit. If candidates have not recently taken a course in human growth and development or developmental psychology, they must take that course as a part of their program of study, preferably during the summer prior to program entry for full-time students.

The Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) for Special Education is nationally accredited by the Council for Exceptional Children and by the South Carolina Department of Education. Most coursework in this program is taught by full-time faculty members (holding terminal degrees in their fields), who have extensive teaching experience and maintain active research and service agendas. Coursework is offered in late afternoon and evening sessions Monday through Thursday for fall and spring terms and in day and evening sessions during the summer terms. Students may enroll as part-time or full-time candidates. Full-time graduate students may be eligible for graduate assistantships through the Graduate School.

Successful completion of the M.A.T. program of study, including the teacher education requirements, leads to recommendation for licensure in South Carolina in the student’s area of concentration. Teacher education requirements include successful clinical practice during a full-time semester, passing the specialty Praxis exams, and other School of Education, Health, and Human Performance and South Carolina Department of Education requirements that can be found on the program’s website. Candidates should consult this website for changes in program or state requirements.

Application and Admission

Submit all application materials to the Graduate School Office.
Submit a completed application form with a nonrefundable application fee of $45.
Submit official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate coursework. An earned bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university is required. Applicants are required to have a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. Undergraduate coursework should represent a broad liberal arts background.
Submit two letters of recommendation. Letters should be from persons most familiar with previous academic and/or work experience and should indicate evidence of potential for graduate studies.
Submit a biographical sketch or professional résumé.
If English is not the primary language of the candidate, submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
Submit official scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
Submit a statement of ability to perform essential teaching duties under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Submit a cover letter to the admissions committee stating why the candidate seeks to be part of the program and is pursuing a teaching career.

These requirements are subject to change. Application packages are available through the Graduate School Office or online. The deadline for applications to the M.A.T. in special education for students planning to attend full-time is April 1. However, applications may still be reviewed until July 15 if there are slots left unfilled after the April 1 deadline. Potential applicants should contact the program director to determine if this is the case.

* Applicants who plan to, at least initially, complete the program on a part-time basis, may apply for admission during fall, spring or summer semesters in order to begin taking courses the following semester. The deadline for fall applications, for a spring semester start, is October1. The application deadline for spring applications, for a summer or fall start, is April 1.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

The M.A.T in special education is awarded to candidates who successfully complete an approved, performance-based program of study consisting of a minimum of 37 semester hours of credit with a minimum overall GPA of 3.0.

Requirements for recommendation for licensure by the South Carolina Department of Education are described in the teacher education program information packet and the Clinical Practice Handbook. Successful completion of clinical practice requirements and passing scores on the Praxis specialty exams corresponding with the candidate’s area of concentration are two of the requirements for licensure recommendation. The Praxis specialty exams should not be taken prior to specialty coursework completion. It is the candidate’s responsibility to register for these exams and have scores sent to the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance and the South Carolina Department of Education.

Upon admission as a regular degree student, each candidate will be assigned a faculty advisor. The candidate should make an appointment with the advisor to complete an official program of study. The program of study is not official until it is signed by the student, advisor, and program director and on file with the Graduate School Office. The candidate may not enroll in more than six hours of coursework without an official program of study. After coursework has commenced, needed changes in the program of study may be made in consultation with the candidate’s advisor and approved by the program director and department chair.

All MAT candidates are required to meet assessment criteria at three decision points in the MAT Assessment Plan to successfully complete the program. Students will be tracked using our Assessment System flowchart.

It is critical for students to meet with the assigned advisor for scheduling and program planning to ensure timely completion of programmatic goals.

The recommended program of study for the M.A.T in special education follows. Consult the program’s website or an advisor for the recommended sequence of coursework, as many courses are offered only once a year but have specific prerequisites. Also note that EDFS 710, Introduction to Exceptional Children and Youth, may be taken as a non-degree student with professor permission.

Fundamental Curriculum (12 - 15 semester hours)

EDFS 635 Educational Research
EDFS 654 Human Growth and Development*
EDFS 687 Technology Education for Teachers
EDFS 720 Educational Assessment of Students with Disabilities *
EDFS 725 Classroom and Behavior Management

*EDFS 654 is required as an addition to the program of study if a comparable course has not been taken at an accredited institution recntly (resulting in a 40 hour program).

Specialized Curriculum (9 semester hours)

EDFS 710 Introduction to Exceptional Children and Youth * **
EDFS 714 Introduction to Curriculum and Instruction in Special Education
EDFS 724 Reading and Language Arts Instruction for Students with Disabilities *

** May be taken as a non-degree student with professor permission

Concentration Areas (minimum 6 semester hours)

Teaching Students with Emotional Disabilities:

EDFS 730 Characteristics of Individuals with Emotional Disabilities*

EDFS 731 Educational Procedures for Individuals with Emotional Disabilities*

Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities:

EDFS 740 Characteristics of Students with Learning Disabilities*

EDFS 741 Educational Procedures for Students with Learning Disabilities*

Teaching Students with Mental Disabilities:

EDFS 750 Characteristics of Individuals with Mental Disabilities*

EDFS 751 Educational Procedures for Individuals with Mental Disabilities*

*Indicates course has field hours as part of course requirements.

Clinical Practice (10 semester hours)

EDFS 797 Clinical Practice in Special Education
EDFS 500 Nonviolent Crisis Intervention (1 semester hour – taken during Clinical Practice)

NOTE: Students may undertake additional coursework and field experiences to specialize in more than one area of special education.

NOTE: Professional development courses (typically offered by the schools in cooperation with S.C. universities) will not be accepted in the M.A.T in Special Education program of study.

Typical Sequence of Study for Full-Time Students

Field Experience Requirements

In addition to clinical practice, students are required to complete a total of 75 hours in the field. These hours are embedded into the following courses:

EDFS 710 Introduction to Exceptional Children and Youth (10 hours)
EDFS 730 or 740 or 750 Characteristics of ED, LD, or MR (15 hours)
EDFS 720 Educational Assessment of Students with Disabilities (15 hours)
EDFS 724 Reading and Language Arts Instruction for Students with Disabilities (15 hours)
EDFS 731 or 741 or 751 Educational Procedures (20 hours)

Clinical Practice Requirements

MAT students are required to successfully complete a 14-week full-time clinical practice experience in their area of specialization. The form "Application for Clinical Practice" should be completed one year prior to the semester of clinical practice. This form is available at the required orientation session. During the clinical practice experience, students are closely supervised by a cooperating teacher and a college professor. Students also attend weekly seminars with their college professor. Students are placed in school districts in Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester Counties. Students in South Carolina teacher training programs must complete the requirements of the ADEPT evaluation systems.

Certification in South Carolina

In addition to completing the requirements of the BS degree program or M.A.T. and Clinical Practice, students desiring certification in South Carolina must pass specific areas of the PRAXIS National Teacher Examination and submit a packet of materials (application for Clinical Practice, check, finger prints) to the Director of the Office of Certification and Clinical Practice in the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance. Students seeking certification in special education must pass the PRAXIS exams in special education core content knowledge (#0353) and each area of certification--learning disabilities (#0382), emotional disabilities (#0371) and/or mental disabilities (#0321). The specialty area tests should be taken after the characteristics courses, classroom management, and most of the methods courses are complete. Review sessions for the specialty area tests are conducted by special education faculty. Registration information for the PRAXIS exams are available at the Praxis website. Test scores must be sent directly to the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance and the South Carolina Department of Education.

Candidates for certification also must pass one of the Principles of Learning and Teaching exams during the Clinical Practice semester.

For additional information about the M.A.T. in Special Education Program, please contact any faculty member.