Master of Special Education at University of New Hampshire

The special education program prepares highly qualified educators who possess the knowledge, disposition, and skills necessary to take the lead in establishing effective teaching and learning environments for a diverse population of learners, who are capable of collaborating with classroom teachers as team leaders or consultants, and who utilize these skills within their school communities, and within the profession itself. The program meets current certification requirements in the state of New Hampshire in General Special Education and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Admission Criteria

In determining admission of students to teacher education graduate programs, several criteria are used:

1. The undergraduate record. The undergraduate overall minimum grade point average for admission is 3.0.  The undergraduate grade point average of students admitted to the graduate programs in teacher education is approximately 3.55 (based on 2020 admissions).
2. Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators (Core) exam scores are required. Applicants must obtain, at a minimum, a qualifying score (as set by the state of New Hampshire at the time of testing) on all three (Reading, Writing, and Mathematics) Core exams in order to be considered for admission. Current NH qualifying scores may be found at the ETS Praxis Website under the "Tests required for all licensure areas" page.
3. Additional required application materials can be found at the Graduate School website under programs.

The Special Education program at the University of New Hampshire seeks to prepare highly qualified educators who possess the knowledge, dispositions, and skills necessary to establish rich, inclusive, and effective teaching and learning environments for diverse populations of learners. We prepare special educators who are able to recognize and respond to systematic and pervasive acts of marginalization that may percolate through schools and school communities and are situated within the contexts of more complex intersections among students' abilities, languages, races, ethnicities, religions, genders, and sexualities, all of which impact student identity, motivation, interest, and connection to education.

• Graduates will be knowledgeable in the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to all students.
• Graduates will be committed to students and their learning.
• Graduates will be responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
• Graduates will be effective organizers of the learning environment.
• Our graduates will be thoughtful and reflective practitioners who learn from experience.
• Our graduates will be committed to collaboration which facilitates student growth and learning.
• Our graduates will be informed decision-makers and agents of change.
• Our graduates will be active members of learning and professional communities.