M.A. in Special Education and Inclusive Practices

The following is a list of items required to begin the application process for the program. There may be additional actions or materials required for admission to the program. Upon receipt of the materials below, a representative from the Rowan University Office of Admissions will contact you with confirmation or will indicate any missing items.

• Submit an Application
• $65 (U.S.) non-refundable application fee
• Bachelor's degree (or its equivalent) from an accredited institution of higher learning
• Official transcripts from all colleges attended (regardless of number of credits earned)
• Current professional resume
• Typewritten statement of professional objectives (all)
  • For the Early Childhood Special Education (birth-5) Certificate of Graduate Study/Track: Please explain how this Early Childhood Special Education (birth-5) Certificate of Graduate Study/Track aligns with your professional objectives and what you hope to learn from this non-certification program.
• Two letters of recommendation
  • While the official Recommendation Form is required, an actual letter from the recommender is preferred. Letters of recommendation should be from professional administrators (supervisor, principal, or superintendent) and/or former professors who can provide information which attests to the applicant's ability to pursue a graduate degree.
• Minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale)
• Statement of access to a classroom (only applicable to Early Childhood Special Education track)
  • Please submit 1-2 paragraphs briefly listing/describing at least one licensed, center-based preschool and/or Early Childhood home-based or center-based site that directly works with young children (in the birth-5 range) where you anticipate being able to complete field-related assignments aligned with ECSE track/COGS coursework (i.e., during and/or after-hours from your current employment for certain assignments per semester may work for our purposes). Please be sure to include the site location and contact information (email, phone) of the director. [Note that a local site covering birth-5 would be ideal since we have a course dedicated to infants/toddlers separate from preschool-aged children. If you only identify one local preschool-aged site for three-to-five-year-olds, however, this is okay for our purposes as long as you are willing to brainstorm alternative options with the instructor to observe/interact with younger children in the infant/toddler methods course, as per assignment guidelines.]
• Copy of NJ Teaching Certification (Standard or CEAS) in Elementary or Secondary Subject Area
  • If your certificate was issued prior to 1994, you must also submit official scores from the Praxis II content specialization test.
• Interview (Students will be contacted directly by the Faculty Admissions Committee regarding the interview. The interview can be in person or via telephone.)
• On-site writing sample (conducted during interview)
• Students in our M.A. in Special Education program that possess an initial area of certification (CEAS or Standard) must be affiliated with a school district (as a full-time substitute teacher, aide, para, lead teacher, or collaborative teacher) with direct access to the same group of students in a p-12 classroom on a consistent, weekly basis, to complete extensive field-based assignments for several required courses. Students in an Alternate Route (CE) program may be considered only if they show ongoing evidence of working full-time in a lead teaching role, good standing in their CE program, and completion of the CE program before beginning clinical practice
  • Only for the Clinical Experiences in Special Education course, the College of Education Office of Clinical Experiences can arrange a special placement if the student does not meet the criteria to complete this in his/her own classroom.