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Master's Degree Program

Many grant participants choose to enter the master’s degree program to seek licensure and a master’s degree concurrently, as both programs have many courses in common. Please visit the Special Education Program website for more information.

1. What are the criteria for admission to the master's degree program?
Regular admittance requires:

  1. a baccalaureate degree in the liberal arts and sciences* from an accredited institution;
  2. an undergraduate grade point average of 2.80 or better in an academic content area;
  3. a Graduate Record Examination score of at least 900 (Verbal and Quantitative sections with a minimum Verbal score of 450 or better) and a 4.5 on the Analytical Writing section OR a Miller Analogies Test (MAT) minimum score of 45;
  4. a 400-500 word goal statement indicating why the student wishes to enroll in the special education program; and
  5. successful completion of the Praxis I, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Testing exam (ACT) according to the scores stipulated by the Virginia Department of Education.

*Qualifying baccalaureate degree in the liberal arts and sciences must include: English: 12 semester hours, Mathematics: 12 semester hours, Science: 10 semester hours with at least 3 classes in at least 2 different sciences, including one laboratory, History: 6 semester hours (must include American and World History), Social Science: 6 semester hours (must include Economics and Geography), Arts and Humanities: 6 semester hours and Computers/Technology: 3 semester hours.

2. May a student who currently is in the Old Dominion University Special Education Master’s Degree Program participate in the grant?
Yes. If an individual meets the established grant criteria, s/he may become a grant participant.

3. How many courses can be transferred into the master's degree program?
An individual may transfer up to 12 graduate credit hours into the master’s degree program at the discretion of the graduate program director. Regardless of the number of graduate hours completed or where these hours were completed, only 12 credit hours can be transferred into the graduate degree program.

4. If a student currently is enrolled in the CSEEP grant, what is the maximum number of hours s/he can complete before applying to the master’s program?
An individual must apply and be accepted into the Old Dominion University Special Education Master's Program before the completion of 12 graduate credit hours. Any credit hours earned beyond 12 will not be transferred into the master’s program.