Special Education

Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Option

The Master of Science in Education, Special Education, education of the deaf and hard of hearing (EDHH) is designed to prepare students to make intelligent decisions and take appropriate, thoughtful action. The program is organized to encourage students to use critical thinking and problem-solving to identify and meet the communication needs of individuals and families. The EDHH option is accredited by the Council on Education of the Deaf (CED).

The EDHH option contains three tracks. Students will work with their academic advisor to determine which track is best suited for their needs. Track one is designed to lead to teacher certification in the State of Missouri and national certification issued by the Council on Education of the Deaf. It is the track that most students will select. Within track one there is also an accelerated master's option available which provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to begin graduate course work during the senior year, and complete the program in three graduate semesters following coursework in the junior and senior years.

Track two results in a master's degree but down not lead to teacher certification in the State of Missouri or national certification issued by the Council on Education of the Deaf. Track three is designed for teachers who hold a bachelor's degree in special education and teacher certification in special education. Track three leads to teacher certification in the State of Missouri but not national certification issued by the Council on Education of the Deaf.

Admission requirements - EDHH option

Students applying to the MSED, Special Education, EDHH apply through GradCAS. The application deadline for first consideration is February 15 to be considered for the following fall semester. Applications will continue to be accepted and reviewed after the first date of consideration.

Full admission to the program shall be based on the following components and application requirements/deadlines:

1. A student must have an undergraduate degree in communication sciences and disorders, education, or related area for track one and track two. Track three requires a bachelor's degree in special education and certification in special education.
2. The student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better (4.00 scale).

Additional admission requirements

The following components should also be submitted.

1. Two letters of recommendation, one primarily addressing academic performance in college and the other focused on work and/or community-based experiences. There may be overlap between the two recommendation letters.
2. Personal statement or cover letter which describes your intent and interest in pursuing a career in deaf education.

Essential functions

The Essential Functions of Educators of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing establish the expectations and requisite abilities considered necessary for professionals in the field of education of the deaf and hard of hearing. Students in the MSU Department of Counseling, Leadership and Special Education are to achieve the level of competency required for graduation and practice. It is recognized that degrees of ability vary widely among individuals. Admission candidates who feel they may not be able to acquire the essential functions set forth are encouraged to contact the Department of Counseling, Leadership and Special Education. Any admission candidate who may require academic accommodations to fulfill the essential functions due to a disability is encouraged to contact the Disability Resource Center at 417-836-4192 (voice) or 417-836-6792 (TTY). The Department of Counseling, Leadership and Special Education at MSU seeks to ensure that qualified persons with disabilities are not denied admission or subject to discrimination in admissions. The Department is committed to enabling students by any reasonable means or accommodations to complete their course of study.

The following Essential Functions are consistent with the Council on the Education of the Deaf clinical skill performance guidelines and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidelines expected of the first year speech-language therapists in public schools. All essential functions are introduced and coached within CLSE coursework and practicum.

Physical Abilities:

• Participate in professional responsibilities/activities for up to four-hour blocks of time with one or two breaks.
• Be self-sufficient when moving to, from and within the work setting.
• Complete diagnostic or instructional evaluation/assessment.
• Effectively implement necessary treatment plan/lesson plan. including use of materials/instrumentation and data collection.
• Provide a safe environment for others in responding quickly to emergency situations including fire, medical and environmental (e.g. weather related) emergencies and in applying universal precautions (standardized approach to infection control).
• Provide appropriate model of language and speech according to the needs of individual clients.
• Visually and auditorally monitor patient responses and materials.
• Make accurate judgments about speech and/or acoustic signals.

Behavioral and Social Attributes:

• Maintain composure and emotional objectivity in demanding situations.
• Communicate effectively and appropriately with people in person, by phone, and in written form by considering the communication needs and cultural values of the listener.
• Understand and respect supervisory authority.
• Maintain appropriate professional behavior, including punctuality, regular attendance and prompt completion of responsibilities.
• Comply with administrative, legal and regulatory policies in multiple clinical and educational settings.
• Demonstrate compassion, integrity and motivation in delivering professional services.
• Collaborate with peers and other professionals.

Intellectual Abilities:

• Solve clinical problems through critical analysis.
• Seek relevant case information, synthesize, and apply concepts and information from various sources and disciplines.
• Write discipline-specific papers and clinical reports in standard edited English at an appropriate level.
• Analyze, synthesize, interpret and retain ideas and concepts in academic and diagnostic/treatment/classroom settings.
• Maintain attention and concentration for sufficient time to complete clinical activities for up to eight hour blocks of time.

The Department is committed to enabling students by any reasonable means or accommodations to complete the course of study leading to the Master of Science in Education, Special Education, Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Program requirements

Non-Thesis Option: A minimum of 43 or 45 semester hours in Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing shall be completed, including the following:

1. Graduate course work to meet academic requirements for the Council on Education of the Deaf (CED).
2. Clinical practicum requirements for the Council on Education of the Deaf (CED) for track one. Clinical practicum requirements to meet Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Deaf and Hard of Hearing teacher certification requirements for tracks one and three.
3. Completion of a master’s project.
4. Comprehensive Examinations.

Thesis Option: A thesis option is not available to track three students. Requirements included in items 1 and 2 above shall pertain. Completion of the Master's Thesis and oral defense shall replace items 3 and 4 listed above.

Additional program requirements

1. Students must pay for and pass both a criminal background and drug test prior to their first clinical placement. EDHH students complete the MoVECHS background check. MoVECHS results are monitored by a College of Education representative. Additional background checks may be required by offsite placements and student teaching sites. There is an additional cost for TB skin tests, liability insurance, and DESE's Substitute Certificate.
2. EDHH students eligible for student teaching (CSD 796) will be placed in approved sites and in locations to be determined by the CLSE faculty.
3. Successfully complete the state approved exit assessments appropriate for the track.

Retention requirements

1. To remain in the program, a student must maintain a GPA of 3.00.
2. No course with a grade below a "C" may be applied to the graduate degree.
3. The accumulation of more than 9 hours of "C" or below will result in dismissal from the program.
4. Students must progress satisfactorily through the levels of clinical practicum as defined in the Clinic Handbook.
5. Students must earn a B- or better for clinical hours in the following courses to be counted toward required clinical experiences: CSD 795 (9) and CSD 796 (8).
6. While grades are important, the student’s continuation in the CLSE Program is based on the composite picture of the ability of the student to perform satisfactorily in the clinical phase of training as well as the academic components.

The CLSE Department reserves the right to refuse enrollment or program continuation to any student. This refusal will be determined by the judgment of the CLSE Graduate Faculty and CLSE Department Head based upon the student’s ability to successfully complete clinical practicum assignments or to assume patient care responsibilities and/or function as a clinician/teacher. Additionally, if a student has failed to demonstrate an attitude of professionalism as judged by the CLSE Graduate Faculty and Department Head, a student may be dismissed from the program.

According to the Missouri State University Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), and requirements of the CLSE Department, academic integrity and honesty are the foundation of the university community. Students are expected to practice academic and clinical integrity in all assigned work. Students are also expected to be honest in all interactions with other students, faculty, and staff, and be professional in attitude, actions and attire.

The university, and the CLSE department, has the inherent right to promulgate appropriate rules and regulations for the orderly conduct of university business and the protection of the health and safety of the university community. Students are expected to comply with all published and stated rules and regulations. If a student is accused of violating any code (theft, academic dishonestly, possession of drugs, etc.) they will be subject to warnings, loss of privileges, probation, suspension and/or dismissal.

EDHH certification requirements

Contact your advisor or the Department Head for the requirements and coursework necessary to meet state and national certification requirements. Students pursuing certification in Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing will be required to complete additional education coursework through the College of Education.

In order to be recommended for state certification, each student must:

1. Students must earn a B- or better for clinical hours in the following courses to be counted toward the required clinical experiences: CSD 795 and CSD 796.
2. Successfully complete the graduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders (Education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing option).
3. Successfully complete the appropriate state approved exit assessments for track one and three.
4. Complete all state certification requirements in effect at the time a recommendation is made for tracks one and three.

43 or 45 total hours required

EDHH MSED Curriculum - Track One (Traditional timeline)

Fall 1

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 757	Language Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing I	3 hrs

Spring 1

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
CSD 795	Advanced Clinical Practice	3 hrs
SPE 762	Speech Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing I	3 hrs
SPE 763	Auditory Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
CSD 795	Advanced Clinical Practice	1 hrs

Summer 1

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 758	Early Intervention Assessment: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	2 hrs
SPE 759	Early Intervention: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	2 hrs
CSD 795	Advanced Clinical Practice	2 hrs

Fall 2

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 764	Instructional Strategies: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
SPE 765	Reading: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
CSD 795	Advanced Clinical Practice Off-Site	3 hrs
CSD 784	Non-Thesis Project	3 hrs
	OR
CSD 799	Master's Thesis	3 hrs
SPE 766	Counseling: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs

Spring 2

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 796	Supervised Teaching	8 hrs
CSD 784	Non-Thesis Project	1 hrs
	OR
CSD 799	Master's Thesis	3 hrs

Accelerated Master of Science in Education, Special Education, Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing additional program entrance requirements

To be eligible to apply for admission to this program, the student must:

1. have junior standing and an overall GPA of 3.25 or better;
2. have completed general education requirements; and
3. have completed the following courses: SPE 310, CSD 330, CSD 312, CSD 360 and CSD 321 prior to applying to graduate school in the spring of their junior year.

After successful completion of the Bachelor of Science requirements, all students in the accelerated master’s program will receive the BS and will be granted full admission to the graduate college.

EDHH MSED curriculum - Track One (Accelerated timeline)

Junior fall

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
CSD 312	Normal Language Acquisition (also offered in fall & summer)	3 hrs
CSD 321	Conceptually Accurate Signed English I (also offered in the spring)	3 hrs
CSD 330	Introduction to American Sign Language (ASL)	3 hrs
CSD 380	Development, Diversity and Deafness	3 hrs
CSD 360	Hearing Science	3 hrs
RDG 318	Foundations of Reading Instruction	3 hrs

Junior spring

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
CSD 322	Conceptually Accurate Signed English II	3 hrs
CSD 331	American Sign Language (ASL) II	3 hrs
CSD 370	Audiology	3 hrs
CSD 562	Psycho-Social Implications of Being Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
CSD 572	Aural Rehabilitation	3 hrs

Senior fall

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
CSD 497	Observation Clinical Practicum (MSU Preschool Program for D/HH)	3 hrs
SPE 757	Language Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing I	3 hrs
EDC 345	Introduction to Multicultural Education and Diversity	3 hrs
MTH 320	Foundations of Mathematics for Teachers	3 hrs

Senior spring

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
CSD 795	Advanced Clinical Practice	3 hrs
SPE 762	Speech Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing I	3 hrs
SPE 763	Auditory Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
CSD 795	Advanced Clinical Practice	1 hrs
RDG 474	Reading and Creative Writing in the Content Field	3 hrs

Graduate summer

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 758	Early Intervention Assessment: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	2 hrs
SPE 759	Early Intervention: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	2 hrs
CSD 795	Advanced Clinical Practice	2 hrs

Graduate fall

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 764	Instructional Strategies: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
SPE 765	Reading: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
CSD 795	Advanced Clinical Practice Off-Site	3 hrs
CSD 784	Non-Thesis Project	3 hrs
	OR
CSD 799	Master's Thesis	3 hrs
SPE 766	Counseling: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs

Graduate spring

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 796	Supervised Teaching	8 hrs
CSD 784	Non-Thesis Project	1 hrs
	OR
CSD 799	Master's Thesis	3 hrs

Mixed credit course options

If accepted to the accelerated program, the following 12 hours of courses may apply to both the undergraduate and graduate degrees: SPE 757, SPE 762, SPE 763; CSD 795.

Before enrolling in a course to be counted toward both undergraduate and graduate credit and to count the course toward the masters degree, an undergraduate student must be accepted into the accelerated program and receive prior approval from the graduate advisor, Department Head, and the Dean of the Graduate College using a Mixed Credit Form. Acceptance into the program and all approvals must be completed prior to the end of the Change of Schedule Period for the semester.

EDHH MSED curriculum - Track two. EDHH MSED degree only without teaching certification curriculum

Track two of the EDHH option is an alternative designed for students who wish to receive a masters degree, but do NOT wish to pursue teacher certification (primarily for international students). Track two will not lead to teacher certification in Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Five of the graduate courses (14 hours) are online classes.

Fall 1

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
CSD 636	American Sign Language I	3 hrs
CSD 780	Development, Diversity and Deafness	3 hrs
CSD 497	Observation Clinical Practicum (MSU Preschool Program of D/HH)	3 hrs
SPE 757	Language Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing I	3 hrs

Spring 1

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
CSD 637	American Sign Language II	3 hrs
CSD 669	Psycho-Social Implications of Being Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
SPE 762	Speech Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing I	3 hrs
SPE 664	Language Development of Exceptional Students	2 hrs

Summer 1

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 758	Early Intervention Assessment: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	2 hrs
SPE 759	Early Intervention: Deaf and Hard of Hearing II	2 hrs

Fall 2

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 764	Instructional Strategies: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
SPE 765	Reading: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
CSD 784 OR CSD 799	Non-Thesis Project OR Master's Thesis	1 hrs OR 3 hrs
SPE 766 OR SPE 660	Counseling: Deaf and Hard of Hearing OR Working with Families of Exceptional Individuals	3 hrs OR 3 hrs

Spring 2

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
CSD 795	Advanced Clinical Practice (MSU Preschool Program for D/HH	3 hrs
SPE 763	Auditory Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
CSD 795	Advanced Clinical Practice (MSU Preschool Program for D/HH)	1 hr
CSD 784	Non-Thesis Project	3 hrs
	OR
CSD 799	Master's Thesis	3 hrs

EDHH MSED Curriculum - Track Three

Track three of the EDHH option is for special education teachers who wish to receive a masters degree and State of Missouri teaching certification in Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Track three does not meet the practicum requirements for national certification by the Council on Education of the Deaf (CED).

Fall 1

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 757	Language Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
SPE 765	Reading: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs

Spring 1

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
CSD 621	Conceptually Accurate Signed English I	3 hrs
SPE 762	Speech Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing I	3 hrs

Summer 1

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
CSD 631	Conceptually Accurate Signed English II	3 hrs
SPE 759	Early Intervention: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	2 hrs

Fall 2

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 766	Counseling: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
CSD 764	Instructional Strategies: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs

Spring 2

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 763	Auditory Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3 hrs
CSD 784	Non-Thesis Project	3 hrs
CSD 795	Advanced Clinical Practice	1 hr

Summer 2

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
SPE 759	Early Intervention: Deaf & Hard of Hearing	2 hrs
CSD 784	Non-Thesis Project	1 hr
CSD 795	Advanced Clinical Practice	2 hrs