Overview

Participants in our education specialist degree program develop special education instructional leadership skills.  Comprehension of how and why interventions work is the program cornerstone.  Intervention development, implementation, and understanding the relevance of student individuality are key components of the program.  Additional elements include program evaluation, assessment, and adjustment.  This program prepares educators to design and facilitate special education program delivery across multiple settings.

Application Process

  1. Complete the Application Form.
  2. Pay the application fee. The application fee is $65 for U.S. citizens and permanent residents and $80 for international students. Please note that application fees are non-refundable. The application fee is waived for the following groups:
    • Veterans and current members of the US military (please email your DD 214 or current assignment orders to gradschool@ua.edu).
    • Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program students (please email gradschool@ua.edu for more details).
    • University of Alabama undergraduates applying to a graduate program in the same subject area. To qualify for this application fee waiver a student must have no time break between the undergraduate and graduate program and have an overall GPA of 3.0 or greater.
    • Applicants who have previously enrolled in Graduate School at The University of Alabama.
  3. Within 48 hours of completing steps 1 and 2 you will receive an email with your Campus Wide Identification (CWID) number. It is VERY important that you keep this number somewhere safe.
  4. Submit supporting documents and check application status by selecting “Manage Documents.”

Admission Requirements

An applicant whose credentials meet both of the following minimum requirements may be considered for admission:

  1. GPA: The applicant must have a grade point average of 3.0 overall, 3.0 in the last 60 semester hours in a degree program, or 3.0 for a completed graduate degree program.

An applicant may also be considered for admission if he or she meets EITHER the GPA requirement for admission (GPA of 3.0) OR the admissions test score requirement for admission (if required by the program). In situations where another part of the application is particularly strong, applicants may be considered for admission if both the GPA and admission test score are below the thresholds above. In cases where an admission test score or GPA are below the numbers stated above, permission to continue is granted at the end of the first 12 hours of graduate credit by earning a minimum GPA of 3.0.

Program Requirements