Special Populations, MEd - Dual Degree with BS in HDFS

Admission Requirements

The College of Education takes into consideration a number of criteria when determining admission, including prior college or university performance, letters of recommendation, standardized test scores (if applicable), and statement of intent. All applicants must abide by the minimum qualifications for admissions to a master’s or doctoral program. All graduate applicants (regardless of citizenship status) must demonstrate proficiency in English to obtain admission to the University. For more information, visit https://uh.edu/graduate-school/international-students/english-proficiency/.

An applicant is responsible for ensuring that all required materials for the evaluation of admissions are received by the College before the program’s deadline. If the application is not complete by the program’s deadline, it will not be evaluated for admissions. Full details of the online application process can be found at https://uh.edu/graduate-school/admissions/how-to-apply/.

Applicant checklist:

1. Complete online graduate application including:
   1. statement of interest,
   2. resume/CV,
   3. letters of recommendation,
   4. and application fee payment.
2. Additional details are outlined on the ELPS Admission page: https://uh.edu/education/departments/elps/admissions/.
3. Official transcripts from all previous college/university work sent to the UH Graduate School.
4. International students have additional documentation requirements, which can be found at https://uh.edu/graduate-school/international-students/.

Grade Point Average Requirements

Admission requirements for this program require a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 for undergraduate coursework or over the last 60 credit hours of coursework. The College requires a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 for graduate coursework. The College’s admission committees evaluate all credentials submitted by applicants to determine a student’s ability and potential to succeed in graduate study. In addition, the committee is interested in the applicant’s potential to contribute to their program of study and the University community as a whole.

For the ELPS Admissions website, visit: https://uh.edu/education/departments/elps/admissions/.

Degree Requirements

Credit hours required for this degree: 30.0

The curriculum for the MEd in Special Populations Program involves the completion of specific coursework. The M.Ed. degree program requires 18 hours of core  special populations courses and an additional 12 hours of specialization electives. The specialization elective courses are chosen to reflect the career interests of the student. Students choose one of three (3) specializations based on whether they want to serve individuals with disabilities directly (Initial EC-12 Special Education Certification), provide formative and summative evaluations that support evidence-based program design (Assessment), or lead others who provide support (Organization/Management/Leadership).

Academic Policies

• University of Houston Academic Policies  
• College of Education Academic Policies  
• Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies  

Certification

Seeking a Master’s degree and certification are two separate but related endeavors; each has its own requirements and resources. Certification plans detail the coursework and requirements you’ll need to be eligible to be recommended for a Texas Educator Certificate through the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC). We have designed our graduate degree plans to align closely with the coursework listed on the certification plans; however, it is important to remember that you are really completing both sets of requirements concurrently. Please refer to the Student Handbook (https://uh.edu/education/degree-programs/spec-ed-med/med-handbook-fall201.pdf) and the COE Certification web page (https://uh.edu/education/student-services/certifications/index) for additional information.