Master's Degree Program Requirements

Special Education Foundation Courses

All students enrolled in a Master's Degree program in Special Education are expected to have completed coursework in relevant Special Education foundations, including topics on:

  • Characteristics of Exceptional Persons (Introduction to Special Education)
  • Assessment Techniques for Diverse Learners (Special Education Assessment)
  • Behavior Management
  • Instructional Methods for Students with Diverse Needs (Special Education Instructional Methods)

The courses may be completed as part of the student's prior undergraduate degree program or as deficiencies at the start of the graduate program. Deficiency courses may be transferred from other institutions. Deficiencies can be completed prior to admission to the degree program, but must be completed prior to enrolling in graduate-level coursework for the Master's Degree. Students cannot use a graduate-level course to meet a deficiency requirement and also count the same course toward the 36-hour degree requirement (30-hour degree requirement for students admitted after Jan. 1, 2022). Students must earn at least a B- or better for any deficiency courses.

Research Requirement

All students enrolled in the Special Education Master's Degree program are expected to complete one 3-credit course in research design/analysis. If a student has completed UNL's SLPA 454 course, the Master's Degree research course requirement is waived.

Fieldwork/Practicum

Students in a Master's Degree program in Special Education may be required to complete fieldwork as part of courses and/or supervised practicum or student-teaching experiences as guided by accreditation standards outlined by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Core Standards (2012). Special areas of study may require additional fieldwork with specific populations and settings and activities outlined by additional standards. Field experiences are arranged and/or approved by the university, unless students are otherwise directed. Students will apply for practicum/student-teaching placements using forms and procedures outlined by the college and the academic advisor. Graduate credits associated with practicum or student-teaching experiences can be used for completion of degree requirements and included on the student's MOC.

Acceptable Academic Performance

Students must maintain a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 while pursuing the Master's Degree in Special Education. Furthermore, the minimum course grade permitted for graduate credits listed on the MOC varies with the level of the course and whether a course is in or outside the major, specifically:

For 400-/800-level courses in SPED: a minimum grade of B is allowed.

For 800-only or 900-level courses in SPED: a minimum grade of B- is allowed. More than two courses below a B- may be cause for academic dismissal from the degree program.

For 800-only or 900-level courses outside SPED: a minimum grade of C is allowed; however, courses listed on the MOC must have a grade of B- or above. A grade of B- or lower in a course designated for an Option II minor requires student to complete a comprehensive minor exam.

Pass/No Pass option: permitted only in 800-only, 900-level, independent study, or self-study courses in SPED.

For SPED 894 (Independent Study), SPED 998 (Research Other Than Thesis), and SPED 899 (Thesis), the student and advisor should craft a Scholarly Activity Agreement. Depending on the course, either pass/no pass or letter grades will be assigned for completed progress. Grades of IP or XP (incomplete, either in progress/inadequate progress) are given at the end of semesters when the primary product is not yet completed. Progress will be determined by the advisor and guided by the Scholarly Activity Agreement Form. Receipt of an XP will result in a letter from the SPED Graduate Governance Committee warning the student of the consequences of receiving additional XP grades and providing resources available to help the student address the inadequate progress. Receipt of two or more grades of XP may result in dismissal from the program.

Exit Examination/Oral Defense

All students pursuing the Master's Degree program in Special Education, must complete an exit exam, as well as complete all courses on the MOC with acceptable academic performance to meet requirements of the degree program.

Students pursuing Option A will have the oral defense of the thesis serve as their exit examination. The purpose of the exit examination for an Option B Master's Degree student is to assess the student's ability to integrate information from completed coursework and his or her ability to synthesize/analyze published literature to support their professional decisions as special educators.

Option A: Thesis

This option requires completion of 30 credit hours, which includes 6 credit hours of Thesis research (SPED 899).

Students interested in completing a thesis should identify a thesis adviser as early in their program as possible but no later than the end of the first semester. Once a topic has been identified and its general suitability discussed with the adviser, the student is in a position to select a Thesis Committee and begin preparation of the thesis proposal. The committee must include the thesis adviser and two other graduate faculty members, one of whom can be from another department (though this is not required). The list of selected Committee members should be noted on the Final Examination Report form (Parts 1, 4 & 5, without a title) and submitted with the student's MOC no later than Monday of the 15th Week of the student's second semester.

The thesis proposal is a crucial step in the thesis process. This written document prepared by the student normally contains the following sections: Review of Relevant Literature, Statement of the Problem and Research Questions, Proposed Methods and Procedures, and Proposed Analysis. Students are advised to work with their thesis adviser regarding the format desired.

Once the proposal is complete and a student has received preliminary approval by the thesis adviser, the process of carrying the study through to completion is generally turned over to the student. The student is encouraged to consult with the thesis adviser and committee members as necessary.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval must be obtained before initiating a study that involves human subjects. Theses involving animals require approval from the UNL Animal Care Committee. A student should consult with his/her thesis adviser about the necessary steps and procedures to obtain approval.

At the completion of the study, a student writes a draft version of the entire thesis document and presents it to the thesis adviser for review and suggested edits. Once the revised version is ready, the student then selects a thesis defense date and time mutually agreeable to all committee members. To prepare the thesis document, students should follow the guidelines recommended by the Office of Graduate Studies and the most current edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) Style Manual.

The student must notify the Graduate Coordinator of the exam date at least four weeks prior to the date of an oral exam during the fall/spring semesters and three weeks prior to the exam during the summer session. 

A minimum of two weeks prior to the thesis defense date during the academic year and at least one week prior to the thesis defense during the summer, a student submits a copy of the final version of the thesis to each member of the Thesis Committee for review before the oral exam.

Following a successful oral defense exam, all the Committee members must sign the Final Examination Report form. Once the thesis is approved by the Committee, the student or thesis adviser promptly submits the Final Examination Report form to the Graduate Coordinator. The Graduate Coordinator will complete the Final Examination Report form with correct date and time of exam and forward to the Office of Graduate Studies before the exam is held.

Option B: Exit Exam

The design of the exit examination will be completed with input from the student's academic advisor. To be eligible to take the exit exam, a student must have a Memorandum of Courses (MOC) on file with UNL's Office of Graduate Studies, have completed at least 30 credits of the 36-plus credit degree program*, and have the agreement of their academic advisor. If a student has declared an area of specialization, the exit exam is meant to assess the student's ability to synthesize information related to his or her area of specialization. *Students admitted after Jan. 1, 2022, will need to have completed at least 24 of the 30-credit degree program.

All students pursuing Option B are to complete Part 1 and Part 2 of the UNL Graduate College Final Examination Report form and submit it to their academic advisor early in the semester in which they plan to take the department Exit Exam. The academic advisor will submit the Final Examination Report form as the student's "application" along with approved exam questions/instructions to the Department Graduate Coordinator no later than the deadlines outlined in the table below that explains the Exit Examination process.

Exit Exam Format: The exit exam is a take-home written examination process in which the student prepares a paper on a topic area related to his or her declared area of specialization. If the student has no declared specialization, his or her academic advisor will select the topic area for examination. Exit exams cannot be papers previously completed for a course. The student will identify the topic and/or question that will be addressed, in collaboration with his or her advisor. The paper must sufficiently address the stated topic or question, and be a maximum of 20 double-spaced pages, and include a page of at least five supporting references, typed in APA style. The paper is expected to include citations/references from professional journals. The paper may include references to book chapters and descriptions/summarizations of individual web-based or other sources of information, but the primary sources of information should be from journal articles. The paper should provide evidence of the student's ability to apply, analyze or evaluate relevant literature for the assigned topic/question. Students should be able to draw conclusions and implications for professional practices. The most current edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual should be used by students to format all papers completed in graduate-level Special Education courses, as well as the exit exam. Students are encouraged to complete the APA online tutorial early in their academic programs. Students should see their advisors to enroll in this non-credit Canvas course.

Preparation for Exit Examination: The student's academic advisor will assist the student in narrowing a topic/question for the exit examination paper. 

Submission of Completed Exit Exam Paper: All students will have three weeks to complete their exam paper. Students will receive the exam question/instructions by email from the Graduate Coordinator. Students must complete their exam paper independently, without further assistance from faculty members or staff. The exit exam must be emailed (.pdf) to the Graduate Coordinator by the date listed below for the student's desired graduation term. Late submissions will be considered No Submission; students will need to reapply for a new exam in a subsequent semester.

Grading of Exit Exam: The submitted exam will be distributed to two designated "readers" from a pool of Graduate Faculty members in Special Education for review and grading. Faculty readers will be assigned by the Special Education Graduate Governance Committee and will not include the student's academic advisor. Efforts will be made to have readers remain anonymous to the student; all papers will be graded without knowledge of the student's name. See the Grading Feedback form.

Exams will be scored as Pass, Revise or No Pass. The student must receive a grade of Pass from both readers in order to proceed to graduation. When a grading consensus is not reached, the paper goes to a third reader to break the tie. If a student is asked to revise, the student's advisor will act as a liaison between the student and the exam reviewers if there are questions about the review comments. A grade of Revise must be resolved within the specified time period in order to be considered for graduation in the same term. Below is an explanation of the grading options.

  1. Pass indicates the paper is in correct APA style, provides adequate organization, communicates a clear position or explanation of a topic, contains correct substantive information, provides enough detail and rationale to substantiate the case argued, and provides adequate documentation/citation. Feedback may still be provided to inform the student of possible edits/considerations for improving this type of writing in the future.
  2. Revise indicates that the paper has met some, but not all, criteria for a Pass. The student will have one week to make the suggested revisions. The revised exam will go back to all previous readers for the final grade of Pass or No Pass. Failure to submit revised paper by deadline will result in No Pass and student will be invited to retake a new exam in the subsequent semester.
  3. No Pass indicates the paper was unsatisfactory. A student who fails the exam is allowed to complete another exam in a subsequent semester. Any student who receives a grade of No Pass in two separate semesters will be dismissed from the Master's Degree program in Special Education.

Students have a total of three written attempts on a maximum of two questions in two separate semesters in which to pass.

  • If a student receives a grade of Revise on the initial question, he or she will revise and be graded a second time on that same question. A Pass on the second attempt means the student is finished. If the second attempt is a No Pass, the student must retake with a new question in a subsequent semester, and MUST pass on the first attempt.
  • If a student receives a grade of No Pass on the initial question, he or she will retake with a new question for the second attempt. A Pass on the second attempt means the student is finished. If the second attempt is a Revise, the student will have a third attempt in a subsequent semester with the same question as the second attempt. A No Pass on the second attempt in this scenario results in an overall decision of No Pass and the program is terminated.
  • Anything other than a Pass on the third attempt results in an overall decision of No Pass, and the program is terminated.

If students would like further details or clarification, they should contact their advisor for an explanation.

TIMELINE FOR WRITTEN EXIT EXAMS
Anticipated Graduation Date December 2023 May 2024
Advisors Submit Questions to Graduate Coordinator & SPED Graduate Governance Review Period Sept. 5 Dec. 1
Advisors/students submit SECD App to take Comps Sept. 15 Dec. 1
Apply for Graduation Sept. 15 Feb. 2
Exit Exam Application (FER) & Final Exam Question Submission to Graduate Coordinator Sept. 13 Jan. 26
Student Exam Period (3 weeks) & Readers Assigned Sept. 18-Oct. 9 Jan. 29-Feb. 19
Exam Paper Submission to Graduate Coordinator Oct. 9 Feb. 19
Readers' Grading Period (2 weeks) Oct. 11-25 Feb. 21-March 6
Readers' Initial Grade Submission to Graduate Coordinator Oct. 25 March 6
3rd Reader Period (if necessary, 1 week) By Nov. 1 By March 13
Spring Break March 10-17
Student's Revision Period (if necessary, 1 week) Between Oct. 25-Nov. 6 Between March 10-24
Readers' Revision Grading Period By Nov. 13 By April 1
Readers' Final Grade Submission to Graduate Coordinator Nov. 14 April 1
Exam Results Announced to Student & Graduate Studies from Graduate Coordinator Nov. 14 April 15
OGS Exam Results Reporting Due Nov. 17 April 22

NOTE: All dates are approximate, and may change based on the UNL academic calendar.

Application for Graduation

Students must apply for graduation during the first weeks of the semester in which they intend to graduate. Look here for specific deadlines.

Students may be completing the Exit Examination for the Master's Degree during the same semester they plan to graduate, but the Application for Graduation must be on file even before the exam is completed. Failure to pass the department Exit Examination may require a delay in graduation and may require a new application and application fee during a subsequent semester in which the student hopes to retake the exam and graduate.