This plan is no longer offered at the Flagstaff Mountain campus. See the Campus Availability tab below for alternate plan campus options.
Online programs leading to certification require fieldwork, internship, and/or student teaching which must be completed onsite in Arizona.
Online programs leading to certification may require synchronous online learning activities. Students must have access to technology with audio and video capabilities.
This plan is appropriate for candidates who are not already certified in special education. Candidates in this program of studies are required to demonstrate content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and skills, and professional knowledge to be eligible to enter student teaching or internship placements. Content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge or skills are demonstrated through candidate performance on key assessments embedded in specific courses.
This program is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) This program is nationally recognized by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
The demand for special education teachers currently outpaces the supply across the country. If you are entering the teaching force for the first time as a second or late career professionals or have teaching certification in another area-elementary education, secondary education- and want to become certified in special education as a second area of teaching expertise, our program can help.
By earning our degree, you'll be ready to enter a special education teaching job in the private sector, human services agencies, or in school settings. You'll focus on how to best help educate students with learning disabilities, emotional or behavioral disorders, mild-moderate intellectual disabilities, and orthopedic and health impairments.
To receive a master’s degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete a planned group of courses from one or more subject areas, consisting of at least 30 units of graduate-level courses. Many master’s degree programs require more than 30 units.
You must additionally complete:
Read the full policy here.
In addition to University Requirements:
Candidates in this program are required to demonstrate content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and skills, professional knowledge, and professional dispositions to be eligible to enter student teaching or internship placements. Content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge or skills, professional dispositions are demonstrated through candidate performance on key assessments embedded throughout the program of study.
| Minimum Units for Completion | 34 - 49 |
| Additional Admission Requirements | Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required. |
| Fieldwork Experience/Internship | Required |
| Arizona Endorsement | Prepares student for Arizona Endorsement. |
| Student Teaching/Supervised Teaching | Student Teaching/Supervised Teaching is required. |
| Some online/blended coursework | Required |
| Progression Plan Link | View Program of Study |
| Licensure | This program may lead to licensure. |
Purpose Statement
The Mild to Moderate with certification MEd degree program leads to certification/licensure with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE). The program is comprised of online, face-to-face, and blended courses.
This graduate program prepares students to become a certified teacher of children and youth who have disabilities. This eclectic coursework in special education ranges from a foundational special education perspective to coursework in various methodologies related to teaching students with special needs. The program provides for an understanding of how the field of special education is an evolving and changing discipline based on philosophies, evidence-based principles and theories, relevant laws and policies, and diverse historical points of view. Through the varied coursework, the candidates demonstrate respect for their students first as unique human beings and demonstrate an understanding of the similarities and differences in human development and the characteristics between individuals with and without exceptional learning needs (ELN). Programmatic emphasis is placed on the importance of understanding the effects that an exceptional condition can have on an individual’s learning in school and throughout life that include beliefs, traditions, and values across and within cultures. Within the program, content is provided that helps the candidate select, adapt, and use these instructional strategies to promote positive learning results in general and special curricula and to appropriately modify learning environments for individuals with ELN. The program focuses on creating learning environments for individuals with ELN that foster cultural understanding, safety and emotional well-being, positive social interactions, and active engagement of individuals with ELN. The program also emphasizes the need to understand typical and atypical language development and the ways in which exceptional conditions can interact with an individual’s experience with and use of language. The program recognizes how assessment is integral to the decision-making and teaching and special educator candidates learn multiple types of assessment information for a variety of educational decisions. They also learn to use the results of assessments to help identify exceptional learning needs and to develop and implement individualized instructional programs, as well as to adjust instruction in response to ongoing learning progress. Emphasis is provided related to the teaching profession’s ethical and professional practice standards. Foundational to the program is the importance of how educators routinely and effectively collaborate with families, other educators, related service providers, and personnel from community agencies in culturally responsive ways.
The NAU graduate online application is required for all programs. Admission to many graduate programs is on a competitive basis, and programs may have higher standards than those established by the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies.
Admission requirements include the following:
Visit the NAU Graduate Admissions website for additional information about graduate school application deadlines, eligibility for study, and admissions policies.
Ready to apply? Begin your application now.
International applicants have additional admission requirements. Please see the International Graduate Admissions Policy.
Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.
This Master’s degree requires 34 - 49 units distributed as follows:
Take the following 34 - 49 units in the following areas, which are organized into two blocks:
Block A - Education Coursework (15 units)
Educational Foundations (3 units)
Elementary Curriculum and Instruction (6 units)
Structured English Immersion (3 units)
Educational Psychology (3 units)
Courses taken in Block A are required for those candidates entering the program without an education degree. These candidates could be eligible for certification in Special Education Mild to Moderate Disabilities upon completion of the degree requirements and earning a passing score on the State Certification Exam(s).
Candidates with an education degree will be evaluated by the department prior to admission. Upon transcript and prior completed coursework evaluation, requirements in Block A may be considered met and/or transfer credit may be applied.
Note: EDF 500 and EPS 605 are strongly recommended if you did not complete an undergraduate education degree or certification program.
For the Structured English Immersion (SEI) endorsement, candidates who have full SEI endorsement at admission must provide proof of the full endorsement. If proof of the full SEI endorsement is not presented at admission, the candidate is required to take the BME course (i.e., BME 631) as part of their program of study.
Block B - Required Special Education Certification Courses (34 units)
Before being accepted to student teaching, candidate must successfully completerequired state and university training modules.
All courses must be selected with the written approval of a special-education faculty advisor. Deviations from these guidelines for individual candidates must be approved in writing by the advisor and the department chair on this official form. In addition, you must be admitted to this degree program before finishing your first 12 units of graduate work.
ESE 634 and ESE 655 are only offered during Summer.
Candidates must also pass the required Arizona Educators Exams: NES Professional Knowledge Special Education Exam and meet State requirements on Federal and State Constitutional knowledge for Arizona Teacher Certification.
Be aware that Arizona state teacher certification requirements leading to Institutional Recommendations may change at any time, and may impact program of study requirements.
Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.