Special Education, M.S.

Prerequisites

The following are required for admission to the program:

1. Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, to include 24 upper-division units in 4 areas of study:
   1. Human development:
      EDP 301  or EDP 302  (or equivalent).
   2. Statistics and measurement:
      EDP 400  (or equivalent).
   3. Individual differences:
      EDSP 350  or EDSP 355A  or EDSP 355B  (or equivalent).
   4. Special Education Assessment:
      EDSP 564  (or equivalent).
2. Minimum 2.85 overall grade point average in last degree (not credential or certificate) earned from an accredited institution of higher education. Applicants whose overall GPA is less than 2.85 but meet the University minimum GPA requirement and who present compelling evidence of academic and professional potential either through recent academic performance and/or experiential background, may be considered for admission at the discretion of the program admission committee.
3. Special education teaching credential, or equivalent experience.
4. International applicants have additional university application requirements including meeting the English language proficiency requirement. Please visit The Center for International Education (CIE) website at www.csulb.edu/cie for more information.

Application

(updated: October 13, 2020)

Applicants use Cal State Apply to file all application materials before the deadline. Deadlines and details about the Program Materials (e.g. statement of purpose prompt, recommendation prompts) may be found in the Application Process section of the College of Education Graduate Studies Office website. Please contact the College of Education Graduate Studies Office if you have questions. 

Submit one set of official transcripts from each college or university that you have attended. This includes all community college(s) attended, bachelor’s degree(s) coursework, and all post-baccalaureate or extension coursework. This set of transcripts will be used to determine grade point average eligibility. Failure to submit transcripts in a timely manner will result in a delayed review of the application.

After an initial review, select applicants are invited for an interview with program faculty.

Conditional Admission

Successful applicants are admitted to the program with Conditional Admission status.

Advancement to Candidacy - Clear Admission

Students should advance to candidacy as early as possible. For advancement to candidacy (Clear Admission status), students must:

1. Fulfill the campus Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR).
2. Maintain a 3.0 grade point average in all course work.
3. Resolve all incomplete grades.
4. Complete all prerequisites and at least 6 units of the program in residence.
5. Submit to the Graduate Studies Office an Advancement to Candidacy form signed by the program advisor.

Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 30 units of upper-division and graduate courses with a minimum of 21 units at the 500/600-level taken at this university. Degree requirements include the following courses: