Why Pursue a Master's in Special Education
The Master of Arts in Special Education enables students in all stages of their careers to gain deeper knowledge working with individuals with disabilities. Courses cover a range of topics and types of disabilities to offer depth and breadth to students’ knowledge.
The program intends to offer students the opportunity to acquire theoretical understanding and classroom/clinical experiences to develop and apply effective instructional, habilitation skills and therapeutic practices for working with individuals with disabilities and their families.
See What Our Faculty Says
When you choose UTSA, you join a community of talented students being taught by award-winning faculty. See what Dr. Kathy Ewoldt has to say.
Admission & Application Requirements
Applications are submitted through the UTSA Graduate Application. Please upload all required documents (listed below) on your UTSA Graduate Application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure completion and submission of the application, a nonrefundable application fee, and all required supporting documents are on file with UTSA by the appropriate application deadline.
| Special Education (MA) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Required Degree | Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in the United States or have proof of equivalent training at a foreign institution. | |
| Minimum GPA | 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) Departments may consider GPA of last 60 semester credit hours | |
| Coursework | 18 credit hours in an area related to this graduate degree and at least 12 hours must be at the upper-division level. | |
| Transcripts* | Required from all institutions attended; international transcripts must be recorded/translated to English | |
| Credential Evaluation | Required if you have earned university-level credit from foreign institutions. Submit an evaluation of your transcripts from Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) directly from the graduate admission application platform | |
| English Language Proficiency | 550 TOEFL Paper / 79 TOEFL Internet / 6.5 IELTS / Duolingo 100 | |
| *Unofficial transcripts will be taken into consideration for admissions; however, if admitted into the program, you must submit official transcripts to the University. | ||
Application Deadlines
Applicants are encouraged to have their admission file completed as early as possible. All applications, required documents and letters of recommendation, if applicable, must be submitted by 5:00 PM U.S. Central Time on the day of the deadline. Deadlines are subject to change.
| Special Education (MA) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Timing on Admission Decision: Completed applications will be reviewed for admission on a rolling basis. Decisions generally will be made and sent to applicants within 4 to 6 weeks of receiving the application. | |||
| Application Deadlines for: | Priority | International | Domestic |
| Spring 2025 | November 1 | December 1 | |
| Summer 2025 | April 1 | May 1 | |
| Fall 2025 | June 1 | August 1 | |
| Spring 2026 | November 1 | December 1 | |
| Summer 2026 | April 1 | May 1 | |
Funding Opportunities
ResourcesCareer Options
UTSA prepares you for future careers that are in demand. The possible careers below is data pulled by a third-party tool called Emsi, which pulls information from sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, online job postings, other government databases and more to give you regional and national career outlook related to this academic program.
Courses are offered at night once a week for three hours (6:00 PM to 8:45 PM) Monday-Thursday in the fall or spring., They are also offered during the day two hours a day Monday through Friday in the four-week summer sessions. In addition, some courses are available at night meeting Monday through Friday for three weeks in the Maymester.
This program is housed on the UTSA Main Campus.
Current research focuses on using technology to promote achievement for students with disabilities.
