University of Southern Maine

The Special Education Program, Teaching ALL Students concentration is now accepting admission applications on a rolling basis with priority deadlines of September 1 and May 1. For more information on the admission process, review the admission information page through the Office of Graduate Studies.

New Concentration in the Special Education Program - Self Design in Special Education

This 36 credit concentration is for certified teachers in any area from any state, who would like to focus their master's program on working with and supporting students with exceptionalities.

Core Courses (12 credits)
EDU 600 Research Methods and Techniques (3 credits)
SED 601 Introduction to Student Programming and Master's Goal-setting (1credit)
SED 697 Universal Design Implemented (3 credits)
SED 698 Capstone Seminar and Portfolio (must be taken last) (2 credits)
SED 699 Directed Study (3 credits)

Electives (24 credits)
The elective courses allow students to tailor their master's programs to their interests and the areas they feel they need further study in to become better teachers for students with exceptionalities.

These courses will be discussed with the student's advisor and written in an agreement between the student and his/her advisor. Any course changes from this agreement will need to be approved, in writing, by the student's advisor.

At least 15 of these credits need to be directly related to working with students with disabilities. All courses need to be graduate level. They can be taken from any graduate department at USM or through the Professional Development Center at USM with prior approval by advisor.

Portfolio Requirements

Students in this program will create, in SED 601, the goals and objectives they plan to accomplish through their plan of study. The plan of study and the goals and objectives can be an expansion of the admissions essay they use for matriculation into the program.

The students will complete their portfolios during SED 698, the semester after all their other courses are completed. The portfolio will demonstrate how they have meet the goals and objectives they planned at the beginning of their program, and the new and unexpected knowledge that they gained while in their program. Students will then present live, or via video, their portfolios to the advisors of the program.

Prospective students, please contact:
Office of Graduate Admissions
(207) 780-4386
(800) 800-4USM
TTY: (207) 780-5646