Online Master of Arts in Teaching in Special Education
Become a qualified K-12 licensed intervention specialist through the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)—Special Education program at the University of Cincinnati Online. Our program is specifically designed for paraprofessionals, career-changing professionals, and those with a bachelor’s degree in a field other than education.
MAT Special Education Overview
Delivered 100% online, our program allows you to move forward with earning your master’s degree and work towards your initial teacher certification at the same time. We recognize the changing and complex role of special educators and prepare our students to implement effective instructional methods to make education accessible for all students.
Once admitted you’ll choose from one of the following tracks:
- Mild to Moderate: this track is intended to prepare teacher candidates to teach children and youth ages 5 through 21 with mild to moderate educational and behavioral needs in a variety of individual settings. The program focuses on curriculum design and implementation, interdisciplinary teaming, and working with families.
- Moderate to Intense: this track is intended to prepare teacher candidates to teach children and youth ages 5 through 21 with significant intellectual, communication, behavioral, or sensory needs. The program focuses on curriculum design and implementation, interdisciplinary teaming, and working with families.
Dr. Kate Doyle and Dr. Christi Carnahan are two of the leading minds behind the University of Cincinnati’s Special Education programs. Hear how they found their passion for special education.
Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction Program Highlights
High Quality Education
Your academic experience will involve 33 credit-hours of core and concentration coursework that includes:
- Foundations of Reading and Writing for Intervention Specialists
- Assistive Technology & Universal Design for Learning
- Overview of Special Education Law
- Phonics Theory & Practice
- Promoting Positive Behavior
Other Special Education Opportunities
Flexibility
- 100% online instruction
- Financial aid available
- Easy to transfer credits
- Enroll in the spring, summer, or fall semesters
- Part-time flexibility
Support from Application through Graduation
At UC, you’ll have a full support team behind you:
Enrollment Services Advisor: Your partner through the application process, getting enrolled, and starting your program
Student Success Coordinator: Helping you prepare for classes and stay on track
Access to Resources: Access to university resources that will support you through your program including online learning expectations and resources, health and wellness resources, and academic support
The online Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) - Special Education is a total of 33 credit hours and can be completed in 1 year. Students will select one track: Mild to Moderate Needs OR Moderate to Intense Needs.
A customized individual schedule will be available following admission.
- Complete a minimum of 33 credit hours.
- Core Coursework: 18 credit hours
- Concentration Coursework: 15 credit hours
- Student teaching is required within each concentration, which involves in-person classroom experience. Contact your Enrollment Services Advisor or onlineenrollment@uc.edu with questions concerning student teaching.
| Course | Title/Description | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| SPED7001 | Overview of Special Education Law This course provides students a foundational understanding of the modern practices within special education. Students gain understanding by studying how the field has evolved throughout time. Information presented in this course is contextualized through various means including: understanding of human need, law/policy, and current research. From this course, students gain an initial understanding of the legal and ethical roles and responsibilities of a professional within the field of special education. |
3 |
| LSLS7006 | Phonological Awareness and Phonics in Middle and Special Education This course addresses the fundamental principles and concepts of the structure of the English language, with a focus on phonological awareness and phonics. Course members will learn how the ability to recognize and manipulate spoken language serves as a precursor to reading and writing, and how phonics and word recognition skills are fundamental in learning how to read and write. Course members will practice applying the principles of phonological awareness and phonics to explicit, systematic, evidence-based instructional practices that benefit a wide array of students. |
3 |
| SPED7004 | Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Writing Instruction in the Content Areas This course is a comprehensive exploration of the developmental and instructional implications related to fluent reading, vocabulary acquisition, comprehension and writing instruction. Along with these core aspects of reading, major skill domains that contribute to the development of written expression are explored. Principles of explicit and systematic instruction of these core aspects of reading and writing are studied and practiced. |
3 |
| SPED7007 | Promoting Positive Behaviors The primary purpose of this course is to help teacher candidates acquire the understanding and skills related to increasing, decreasing, maintaining, and generalizing behaviors. Teacher candidates enrolled in this course will gain an understanding of applied behavior analysis, and how to create a positive and safe learning environment in schools by carefully assessing socially significant students' needs and the context in which (both desired and problem) behavior occur. Teachers can prevent or decrease problem behavior by: (1) applying effective primary prevention and early intervention strategies in the classroom, and (2) identifying students, with and without disabilities, who need additional behavioral support. Teachers can apply an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a safe learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active participation, academic engagement, and independence. |
3 |
| LSLS7012 | Foundations of Reading and Writing for Intervention Specialists This course provides a scientific foundation in the cognitive, socio-cultural, linguistic, and motivational influences on literacy and language development. The course presents the key scientifically based reading research foundations needed to understand how reading develops, and effective methods and strategies used to teach literacy skills to young children through young adults. Topics include understanding reading research, cognitive psychology’s contributions to understanding the reading process, language development, the sequence of learning to read, the essential components of reading instruction, and an introduction to the most effective approaches to teaching reading across the grade bands. |
3 |
| SPED7052 | Universal Design for Learning This course provides an overview of how the principles of Universal Design for Learning can be used to design online and blended learning experiences that meet the needs of diverse learners including those who are accelerated and those who are struggling for a variety of reasons. Special attention will be given to integrating technologies, such as Generative AI, multimedia, and other digital tools, that support student engagement, authentic learning, and general accessibility supports. |
3 |
| Course | Title/Description | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| SPED7006 | Assessment & Intervention This course will focus on special topics associated with assessment and evaluation of learners who have special needs. Specifically, this course provides a foundational understanding of assessment in education and special education. Course content will cover legal and ethical issues, statistical and measurement considerations, and both formal and informal assessment processes across all abilities and disabilities. Students will gain understanding in the selection, administration, scoring, and interpretation of formal and informal assessments for the purpose of identifying and addressing exceptional learning needs. |
3 |
| SPED7008 | Curriculum Planning & Instructional Strategies: Mild to Moderate This course provides foundational understanding of curriculum development and instructional planning for individuals with mild to moderate disabilities. Course content covers service delivery, service delivery roles of the special educators, Individual Education Plan (IEP) development, instructional planning and transition preparation and programming. Teacher candidates will develop knowledge and skills in supporting various learning environments, providing for transition, and IEP development. |
3 |
| SPED7017 | Student Teaching: Initial Licensure A full time, supervised, mentored, clinical experience with students who have mild, moderate, or intensive educational needs. This experience is designed for students who are seeking initial licensure as an intervention specialist. |
3 |
| SPED7018 | Special Education Seminar: Initial Licensure Seminar to provide a professional learning community to support students teachers during their clinical experience working with individuals who have mild, moderate, or intensive needs. |
1 |
| SPED7020 | Literacy Assessment, Instruction, and Intervention This course will address the use of formal and informal assessment procedures used to design and evaluate robust reading instruction and intervention for children in preschool through high school. The foci of the course include the knowledge and skills needed to choose and give appropriate reading assessments for a variety of purposes, data-based decision making to guide instructional planning and intervention design, and understanding struggling readers including those with reading disabilities. Instruction will be delivered within a context of an ecological, collaborative problem-solving model. Students will be instructed on how to apply both formal and informal assessments to a problem-solving model aimed at the design of robust reading instruction. An emphasis will be placed on creating Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to support all students. |
3 |
| Course | Title/Description | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| SPED7009 | Assessment and Curriculum Planning: Moderate to Intense This course addresses assessment and planning for students with significant disabilities. Topics include formal and informal assessment, curriculum planning, individualized instruction. Participants will be expected to observe and plan instruction from those observations. |
3 |
| SPED7010 | Instructional Strategies: Moderate to Intense Instructional Strategies (MI) provides students with an overview of the instructional strategies necessary for students with moderate to intense disabilities. Teacher candidates understand how students differ in their approaches and responses to learning and create instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners. |
3 |
| SPED7012 | Language and Foundations of Literacy This course is designed to assist intervention specialist candidates develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to address the communication and literacy needs of students with complex learning needs. Through course readings, activities, and required course assignments, intervention specialist candidates will gain practical experiences that will prepare them to facilitate student learning. |
3 |
| SPED7017 | Student Teaching: Initial Licensure A full time, supervised, mentored, clinical experience with students who have mild, moderate, or intensive educational needs. This experience is designed for students who are seeking initial licensure as an intervention specialist. |
3 |
| SPED7018 | Special Education Seminar: Initial Licensure Seminar to provide a professional learning community to support students teachers during their clinical experience working with individuals who have mild, moderate, or intensive needs. |
1 |
Admission into the University of Cincinnati’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)—Special Education online program is based on meeting the requirements outlined below.
Applications for the online program are reviewed in a manner that carefully considers all items in your application portfolio. Our Admissions Office is happy to work with you to answer any question you may have and help determine your eligibility. Contact an Enrollment Services Advisor or email onlineenrollment@uc.edu.
Prerequisites
- A baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
- Undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 (4.0 scale).
- GRE scores are optional for admission, but encouraged for applicants with an undergraduate GPA below 3.0 (4.0 scale).
Admission Materials
- Statement of academic and professional goals.
- One (1) Letter of Recommendation.
- Unofficial transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work.
- Resume or CV.
Complete the online application and submit the application fee.
Standard Application Fees:
- $65.00 for domestic applicants to most degree programs
- $70.00 for international applicants to most degree programs
- $20.00 for domestic applicants to Graduate Certificates
- $25.00 for international applicants to Graduate Certificates
- Application fees are waived for Summer 2026 applications submitted by March 1st, 2026
- Application fees are waived for Fall 2026 applications submitted by July 1st, 2026
- Fee waivers are automatically applied for applicants who:
- are currently serving in the US armed forces
- are veterans of the US armed forces
All applicants are required to upload unofficial transcripts during the application process, showing all undergraduate and graduate course work completed, including degrees granted and dates of conferral.
Official transcripts are not required until the student has received and accepted an offer of admission from the university. Once the offer has been confirmed, the student must submit official transcripts.
Students who have received degrees from the University of Cincinnati do not need to submit official paper copies of their UC transcripts.
Transcripts can be submitted electronically or by mail. To see if your transcript(s) can be ordered electronically, visit the links below and search for your previous school(s).
- Parchment
- Please select “University of Cincinnati – Main Campus” as the recipient of your transcript.
- National Student Clearinghouse
- Please have your transcript sent directly to admissions@uc.edu.
If you do not see your past school(s) listed on either site, please contact the school(s) directly. Then, mail your sealed, unopened, official transcripts to:
Please mail sealed, unopened, official transcripts to:
University of Cincinnati
Office of Admissions
PO Box 210091
Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0091
Transfer Credits
On a case-by-case basis, a student may petition to have graduate credit from an accredited college or university counted as the equivalent of another course in the curriculum and accepted as transfer credit. In such cases, a student will have to supply a course syllabus to ensure that the content in the course taken at another university is equivalent to the content of the course in the MAT curriculum. A course with a similar name or the same name as a course offered at the University of Cincinnati does not necessarily mean that the content of the course is similar enough to accept it as transfer credit to our program.
Students may transfer up to nine (9) hours of graduate credit in Education courses from an accredited college or university. Graduate courses outside of Education will not be accepted. Courses taken outside an accredited college or university—such as non-credit professional development—will not be accepted. Only courses with grades of B or higher will be considered for transfer. No credit is given for previous work history. Courses taken more than seven (7) years prior to a student’s entrance into the program will not be accepted as transfer credit.
Speak with an Enrollment Services Advisor to discuss the petition process.
One letter of reference is required.
- Please provide a letter from a professional or academic contact.
- Please note that the name and email address of the recommender is required.
Professional Resume:
A resume relevant to academic and professional data. It should include the applicant’s name; phone; email; colleges attended with degrees, dates conferred, and grade point average; employment history; professional experience; present employer; and names of references.
Curriculum Vitae:
A detailed look at the applicant’s career path, including achievements, publications, and awards. Including comprehensive information about candidate’s research background, presentations, publications, committee memberships and other experience of an academic, clinical, or scientific nature.
The goal statement serves as a sample of the applicant’s writing quality and ensures their goals match with the program. It should denote applicant’s desired program concentration (if applicable) and highlight applicant’s motivation for pursuing a career in the field, and how the program will benefit them.
GRE scores are optional for admission. Scores are recommended to strengthen applications that may be weak in areas. For example, applicants with a minimum undergraduate GPA of less than 3.0 should include GRE scores with their application.
- GRE Scores: All three sections of the General Test taken within the last 5 years.
- Desired Scores: 470 Verbal; 540 Quantitative, and 4.5 Writing (old scale) OR 151 Verbal; 147 Quantitative, and 4.5 Writing (new scale).
International students are required to submit official TOEFL, TSE, and TWE scores for tests taken within the last seven years, prior to the application deadline for the term of the application. These scores must be submitted directly to the program office.
More information about these tests can be found here.
Applicants who have earned a degree in China must submit an English-version verification report from the China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center (CDGDC) of their final transcripts and degree certificates. All verification reports must be sent to the University of Cincinnati directly by the CDGDC to be considered official. No other verification will be accepted. Applicants with Chinese transcripts must contact the CDGDC after their degree is completed and request that their degree verification report be submitted directly to the University of Cincinnati. Students who request a verification report prior to degree conferral will be required to submit a second report after conferral.
Verification reports can be ordered at the following websites:
- Chinese
- English
For questions regarding international student admissions contact an Enrollment Services Advisor.
| Term | Application Deadline | Classes Start |
|---|---|---|
Summer 2026 Fall 2026 Spring 2027 |
April 24, 2026 August 8, 2026 December 15, 2026 |
May 11, 2026 August 24, 2026 January 11, 2027 |
The University of Cincinnati's online course fees differ depending on the program. On average, students will accrue fewer fees than students attending on-campus classes.
The one fee applied across all UC Online programs is the distance learning fee. Students living outside the state of Ohio must also pay an additional “non-resident” fee to enroll in courses at UC Online. This fee is lower than the out-of-state fee for traditional on-campus programs.
To view tuition information and program costs, visit the Online Program Fees page.
Federal regulations require the University of Cincinnati to publicly disclose whether completion of certain programs that lead or may lead to professional licensure or certification would meet a given state’s educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification required for employment in an occupation (regardless of whether the program is on-ground, online, or hybrid). To learn whether a University program meets a given state’s educational requirements, please visit the University of Cincinnati State Authorization webpage.
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We offer over 130 degrees from undergraduate to doctoral programs. Each program is supported by a team of Enrollment Services Advisors (ESAs) who are here to help answer any questions you have.