Early Admission Program

The Early Admission Program is for seniors at Bridgewater State University majoring in Elementary Education, Special Education Concentration, BSE, who wish to take one graduate course in Special Education for undergraduate credit, and thereby accelerate the completion of their MEd in Special Education, Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8) (Initial Licensure) for Elementary and Early Childhood Teachers. Students can complete a BSE and MEd in Special Education within five years if they choose to be a full-time student. The application fee for students seeking early admissions to the relevant graduate program will be waived.  

If accepted, students will be granted special status to enroll in one graduate course in Special Education for undergraduate credit. The graduate course that will be taken for undergraduate credit is SPED 501 - Professional Practices in Special Education  (3 credits). Tuition for this course will be at the undergraduate course rate.

Admission requirements include:

• be a Bridgewater State University senior, enrolled in the Elementary Education, Special Education Concentration, BSE;
• be enrolled in Education Cluster III of their Elementary Education major;
• file an application for admission to the College of Graduate Studies, MEd in Special Education, Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8) (Initial Licensure) for Elementary and Early Childhood Teachers, to begin graduate course work during the practicum semester of the BSE program; and
• have a GPA of 3.0.

Undergraduate students’ financial aid package will apply to the graduate course taken for undergraduate credit. The graduate course taken as an undergraduate will be counted as part of the requirements for the Elementary Education, Special Education Concentration, BSE. Once the student completes their BSE, the graduate course that they have completed will be applied to their MEd requirements if they receive a minimum grade of “B”.

Required courses (19 credits)

• GRPP 501 - Graduate Program Planning
• SPED 502 - Special Education Teacher as a Researcher

• or EDMC 530 - The Teacher as Researcher  

• SPED 517 - Language Skills for Special Needs Learners
• SPED 518 - Advanced Literacy Strategies in Special Education
• SPED 521 - Teaching Reading in the Content Areas to Students with Special Needs
• SPED 550 - Capstone Seminar in Special Education
• SPED 565 - Instructional Strategies for Students with Mathematics Learning Difficulties

Licensure courses (18 credits)

• SPED 501 - Professional Practices in Special Education
• SPED 504 - Curriculum and Instruction for Learners with Special Needs: PreK-8
• SPED 508 - Strategies for Diversity: Sheltered English Immersion Endorsement Course
• SPED 530 - Assessment Procedures in Special Education
• SPED 575 - Behavior Interventions in Special Education
• SPED 594 - Practicum: Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8) (3 or 6 credits)

Exit requirement

Successful completion of a comprehensive examination is required. Please see the Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures  section of this catalog for additional information.

Total minimum credits: 37*

* On a case-by-case basis an individual course may be waived to bring the minimum number of credits to 34. For students in the Early Admission Program at BSU, one graduate course (3 credits) in Special Education taken as an undergraduate and completed with a minimum grade of “B” may be applied to fulfill MEd program requirements.