Program: Inclusive Special Education: 1-6 Preparation, MS - Syracuse University

2024-2025 Graduate Course Catalog

Jul 16, 2025

Contacts:

Sharon Dotger, Faculty Director of Teacher Education and Undergraduate Studies, 315-443-9138, sdotger@syr.edu

Julia M. White, 150 Huntington Hall, 315-443-9321, jmwhit02@syr.edu

Faculty

Christine Ashby, Beth Ferri, Julia White

This master’s degree program in inclusive special education is designed to prepare students to work with individuals with disabilities in grades 1-6. It meets the academic requirements for initial/professional New York State teacher certification in Students with Disabilities (1-6). Students may complete the 32-credit program either full (in 15 months) or part-time (although daytime availability for field experience and student teaching is required). Applicants must hold or be expected to have met requirements for the New York State initial childhood 1-6 teaching certificate, with all requirements met before beginning the program.

The program builds on the long and distinguished traditions of inclusive education and disability studies at Syracuse University. The philosophies of the program expand on these traditions to examine disability as a social, cultural, and political construct inextricably linked to issues of race, class, and gender. A grounding assumption of the program is that students with disabilities must have access to academic instruction and social learning available to students without disabilities. To this end, students in this program explore innovative approaches to modifying and adapting instruction, curriculum, and classroom structures to maximize each student’s strengths and encourage meaningful participation in inclusive classrooms.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Acquire knowledge of each student, and demonstrate knowledge of student development and learning to promote achievement for all students

2. Know the content they are responsible for teaching, and plan instruction that ensures growth and achievement for all students

3. Implement instruction that engages and challenges all students to meet or exceed the learning standards

4. Work with all students to create a dynamic learning environment that supports achievement and growth

5. Use multiple measures to assess and document student growth, evaluate instructional effectiveness, and modify instruction

6. Demonstrate professional responsibility and engage relevant stakeholders to maximize student growth, development, and learning

7. Set informed goals and strive for continuous professional growth

M.S. in Inclusive Special Education 1-6 course requirements:

DSP 614 - Critical Issues in Dis/Ability and Inclusion 3 credit(s)
SPE 653 - Positive Approaches to Challenging Behaviors 3 credit(s)
SPE 634 - Collaboration/Cooperation in Schools 3 credit(s)
SPE 612 - Adapting Instruction for Diverse Student Needs 3 credit(s)
SPE 600 - Selected Topics 1-6 credit(s) Practicum in Special Education 1 credit required
SPE 627 - Early Intervention for Children’s Reading Problems 3 credit(s)
SPE 609 - Teaching Children and Adolescents with Autism 3 credit(s) or
SPE 644 - Significant Disabilities: Shifts in Paradigms and Practices 3 credit(s)
SPE 705 - Practicum in Psychoeducational Evaluation and Planning for Exceptional Children 3-6 credit(s)
3 credit(s) required
SPE 724 - Inclusive Professional Practices in Special Education 3 credit(s)
SPE 618 - Augmentation of Communication in the Inclusive Classroom 3 credit(s) or
SPE 652 - Assistive Technologies for Integrating Students with Special Needs 3 credit(s)
EDU 508 - Student Teaching 2-15 credit(s) Inclusive Special Education 1-6 4 credit(s) required

Culminating Experience

In addition, students must submit a Peer-Reviewed Professional Teaching/Learning Portfolio for evaluation.

Total Credits Required: 32

Inclusive Special Education (1-6) Content Requirements

In addition to the graduate courses listed above, this program requires an undergraduate degree in a liberal arts content core or 30 credit hours in one or more of the liberal arts and sciences. In addition, they must have six credits in English (three of which must be in writing), six credits of Mathematics, six credits in the Natural Sciences, and six credits in the Social Science (three of which must be in history), where appropriate these English, Mathematics, Science or Social Sciences may overlap with the liberal arts content core. Typically, a 3.0 average in these courses is required.

They must have 30 credit hour major, concentration or its equivalent in one or more of the liberal arts and sciences.

It is expected that students will enter the program with most of these requirements completed. Students who do not complete all of the requirements cannot be recommended for certification.

Also Required:

Workshops in violence prevention, child abuse and abduction, substance abuse, the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), and school and fire safety.

As a culminating experience, students complete a portfolio demonstrating evidence of professional competence.