Skip to main content
Young student with educator

Master of Education (M.Ed.) Special Education

Master of Education

The Lourdes M.Ed. in Special Education addresses the growing demand for special education teachers in this region by preparing graduates to meet the educational needs of their students.

Choose the option that best meets your professional goals.

Master of Education – Special Education with Initial Licensure

Obtain your first teaching license, an Ohio K-12 Mild-Moderate Intervention Specialist license, and an M.Ed. in Special Education.

Master of Education – Special Education

Obtain an Ohio K-12 Mild-Moderate Intervention Specialist teaching license and an M.Ed. in Special Education.

Admission Requirements

APPLICATION DETAILS

MED applications will be accepted until all seats are full. Apply early to secure your seat!

  • Apply for Admission:  Complete and submit the online application for graduate students here.
    • If you have previously applied but did not enroll in courses, please complete and submit a new application so all of your records can be updated.
  • Request Transcripts:  Order transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
    • Have electronic copies sent to gradadmit@lourdes.edu OR Have your institution send official hard copies to:

Lourdes University Graduate Admissions
6832 Convent Blvd.
Sylvania, OH  43560

  • Provide Recommender Information:  Provide name, organization, position/title, relationship, phone number & email address for one professional recommender.
  • Submit Current Resume
  • Provide Proof of Certifications and Licensure:  All copies of documents/licenses/certifications can be uploaded into your application.
  • Application Review:  The application review process takes approximately 48 hours once all documentation is received.
  • Interview:  Interviews will scheduled with the program director.  This may be a virtual, phone, or in person interview.
  • Admission Decision:  Admission decisions will be sent via email and a hard copy letter will be sent to your home address.
  • Return the Intent to Enroll – To complete the application process, please access the Intent to Enroll link (in your acceptance email), complete and submit the form.
  • Course Registration – The Graduate Office of Admissions will facilitate enrollment into your first semester courses.  You will self-register for subsequent semesters.

Curriculum & Learning Outcomes

CURRICULUM

MASTER OF EDUCATION IN SPECIAL EDUCATION – INITIAL LICENSURE
Total Credit Hours Required for Graduation: 33 credit hours

Sample Curriculum Courses

EDU 678 Foundations of Education of Individuals with Exceptionalities (3)

EDU 679 Collaboration between Schools, Families, and Community Support Service (3)

EDU 680 Positive Behavioral Interventions for Individuals with Exceptionalities (3)

EDU 681 Instructional Interventions for Individuals with Exceptionalities (3)

EDU 682 Reading Diagnoses and Assessment (3)

EDU 683 Special Education Law and Policy (3)

EDU 684 Assessment and Diagnosis (3)

EDU 685 Reading Comprehension Skills, Strategies and the Writing Process in Inclusive Classrooms (3)

EDU 686 The Role of Phonics and the Foundations of Reading and Writing (3)

 

Initial Licensure Students
EDU 690 Student Teaching (6)
EDU 690 requires a 75-day (Approx. 15-week) field placement

Those with current teaching license
Graduate Elective Courses (6)

MASTER OF EDUCATION IN SPECIAL EDUCATION – LICENSURE WITH M.ED.
Total Credit Hours Required for Graduation: 33 credit hours

The Master of Education – Special Education with Mild to Moderate Intervention Specialist Licensure is designed for individuals who hold a teaching license in Early, Middle or Adolescence to Young Adult Education who wish to obtain an Ohio K-12 Mild-Moderate Intervention Specialist teaching credential and a M.Ed. – Special Education. The program can be completed in two and a half years.

The Ohio Department of Education requires a minimum of 12 semester hours of reading coursework (9 semester hours in the teaching of reading and 3 semester hours in the teaching of phonics). EDU 681 and 682 fulfill 6 of the 12 literacy hours. Options for additional required reading courses can be discussed with the program director.

Applicants may submit unofficial transcripts for review prior to admission into the program. Literacy credit hour equivalency will be determined on an individual basis. Upon successful completion of all required coursework, teacher candidates must pass the OAE assessment for Mild to Moderate Intervention Specialists to receive an Ohio license.

LOURDES UNIVERSITY EDUCATION DIVISION LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • Recognizing that all students are unique gifts of God, graduate candidates will demonstrate an understanding of contemporary curriculum teaching and learning theories and will be able to apply these to promote learning for all.
  • Grounded in the Franciscan values of learning, reverence, and service, graduate candidates will demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility, global diversity, and the standards of their discipline.
  • Promoting the use of research-based instructional practices, graduate candidates will incorporate the use of instructional technologies to support student learning and literacies as well as, their own professional development.
  • Grounded in 21st Century skills and dispositions, graduate candidates will demonstrate value and respect for global diversity in order to promote inclusive and responsive educational practices.
  • Demonstrating effective oral and written communication forms, graduate candidates will exhibit proficiency in the specific knowledge-bases and dispositions which form their areas of specialization.
  • Demonstrating proficiency in specific areas of specialization and research methodology, Masters of Education candidates will develop and present a capstone project.

M.ED. – SPECIAL EDUCATION LEARNING OUTCOMES

M.Ed. – Special Education candidates should master the Course Objectives and Standards as identified by the Council for Exceptional Children.

Standard 1
Beginning special education professionals understand how exceptionalities may interact with development and learning and use this knowledge to provide meaningful and challenging learning experiences for individuals with exceptionalities.

Standard 2
Beginning special education professionals create safe, inclusive, culturally responsive learning environments so that individuals with exceptionalities become active and effective learners and develop emotional wellbeing, positive social interactions, and self-determination.

Standard 3
Beginning special education professionals use knowledge of general and specialized curricula to individualize learning for individuals with exceptionalities.

Standard 4
Beginning special education professionals use multiple methods of assessment and data sources in making educational decisions.

Standard 5
Beginning special education professionals select, adapt, and use a repertoire of evidence-based instructional strategies to advance learning of individuals with exceptionalities.

Standard 6
Beginning special education professionals use foundational knowledge of the field and their professional ethical principles and practice standards to inform a special education practice, to engage in lifelong learning, and to advance the profession.

Standard 7
Beginning special education professionals collaborate with families, other educators, related service providers, individuals with exceptionalities, and personnel from community agencies in culturally responsive ways to address the needs of individuals with exceptionalities across a range of learning experiences.

Professional Development for Educators

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Lourdes University offers educators quality professional development opportunities. Professional Development Courses (EDU 500 level) are graduate classes and can be used for re licensure (Ohio), certification renewal or upgrade (Michigan), and additional endorsements. These courses are scheduled throughout the year and are generally held on the Lourdes University campus in Sylvania or in schools.

Participants desiring graduate credit must possess a valid or expired teaching license or certificate and provide documentation of an appropriate baccalaureate degree. Participants interested in using 500-level courses for Lourdes University degree programs or transferring the credits to programs at other institutions should obtain approval from Lourdes University or the institution to which the credit will be transferred in advance of registration.

SCHOOL PARTNERS

Lourdes University Education Department offers professional development to school districts, individual buildings, or departments to support district goals in the area of professional development. Our faculty and staff will design professional development to meet the needs of your faculty. Lourdes University believes that effective professional development should take place over a period of time to allow teachers the opportunity to apply their learning in the classroom and have time to assess and reflect on the effectiveness of the professional development in regards to student learning within the professional development experience. Education Department faculty and staff are currently working with the Sylvania, Perrysburg, and Swanton Public School districts and St. Joseph Catholic School in Sylvania on comprehensive initiatives in the areas of 1:1 mobile device integration into instructional practice and reciprocal teaching strategies in classrooms to support reading comprehension.

COMMUNITY PARTNER

Lourdes University also offers Professional Development in conjunction with community partners such as WGTE, NWOCA, The Toledo Museum of Art and the Community Resources Workshop. These courses are scheduled throughout the year and are held on the Lourdes University campus in Sylvania and alternate locations.

Teaching Channel Logo

TEACHING CHANNEL WITH LEARNER’S EDGE

Lourdes University partners with Teaching Channel with Learners Edge in extending graduate credit in association with distance learning (print-based and online) courses. Designed to meet the needs of professional educators, these courses fulfill requirements for license renewal. These course credits will be part of your Lourdes University transcript and may be transferred to another institution.

Educators can choose from over 90 different offerings that are relevant for today’s classroom teachers that are offered in a self-paced format.

Certificate & Endorsement Programs

Educators in Toledo, northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan can choose to pursue one of two graduate certificate programs.

ONLINE PRIMARY EDUCATION GENERALIST ENDORSEMENT: GRADES 4-5

Graduate Certificate Program for Educators

Lourdes University offers an online nine-credit, three-course certificate program at the 600 level that qualifies educators who hold a State of Ohio Pre-K3 Early Childhood License to add the Primary Education Generalist Endorsement.

The certificate is offered in an online format at a reduced rate for educators.

Completers must earn a passing score on the Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) Assessments in order to add the Primary Education Generalist Grades 4-5 Endorsement to an Ohio License.

17 hours of field experience are required per course.

Applications are currently being accepted.
COURSES
EDU 675 Pedagogy and Development: Young Adolescence
EDU 676 Content and Pedagogy: Mathematics and Science Grades 4 & 5
EDU 677 Concepts and Pedagogy: Social Studies and Language Arts Grades 4 & 5
COST

  • $630 per course
  • $1,890 total for graduate certificate program

No additional fees applied

P-12 READING ENDORSEMENT

Graduate Certificate Program for Educators

Reading Endorsement applications will be accepted until all seats are full. Apply early to secure your seat!

Designed for teachers wishing to help prepare students for state reading exams and to become better readers in general. The program fits the needs of those candidates wanting to enhance their skills as or to become a reading teacher able to teach all grade levels.

Preparing teachers to sit for the OAE exam, the endorsement is offered as a 15 credit hour standalone endorsement or it can be combined with the Master of Education degree. Once the reading endorsement is completed, and the OAE exam is passed, the endorsement may be added to the teacher’s license. The full master’s degree is only 18 additional credit hours to completion.

Courses for the Reading Endorsement
EDU 640 Literacy Foundations and Strategies
EDU 641 Phonics and Applied Word Study
EDU 642 Reading and Writing in the P-12 Classroom
EDU 643 Literacy Assessment, Diagnosis and Intervention
EDU 644 Practicum: Professionalism in Clinical Literacy Practice

Learn more.

Contact Graduate Admissions to discuss your degree plans and explore Lourdes University’s program offerings.

Close Menu