The School of Education offers a Bachelor of Arts in Education degree which combines work in the liberal arts and sciences with education courses and field-based experiences. The degree is unique in that all students who are admitted to the BA Ed. will be prepared to be elementary teachers (grades 1-6) who specialize in working with special education students with moderate disabilities (SPED) (grades PreK-8). The purpose of the program is to equip undergraduates with the knowledge, skills and dispositions, necessary to be effective in their roles and to assume teaching positions primarily in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Massachusetts has reciprocal agreements with other states, but students will be endorsed by UMass Lowell for teaching licenses in Massachusetts only.
The BA Ed. is a Bachelor of Arts degree that combines Interdisciplinary Studies with study in Professional Field Knowledge appropriate for teaching in elementary and special education settings. The degree requires 120 credits of study made from the following three components:
- UMass Lowell’s Core Curriculum (37 cr.)
- Collateral Field Studies (24 cr.)
- Professional Knowledge in Elementary and Special Education (59 cr.)
Students studying to be elementary teachers of students with moderate disabilities will take professional knowledge coursework which includes:
- Child development
- Reading theory, research and practice and relationship to writing
- First and second language acquisition and development
- The range of learning disabilities
- Methods of teaching all elementary subjects to all students, including English learners and students with moderate disabilities
- Assessment techniques
- Federal and state laws and mandates
- Family and community engagement
Important Information Specific to Teaching
Because this is a professional degree and teacher candidates will be working in local schools, they will be required to submit information for background checks (CORI – Criminal Offender Record Investigation). School districts may refuse to allow a student to complete field and clinical experiences if certain offences are revealed. These circumstances may result in students being unable to complete a teacher preparation program. In compliance with Massachusetts law, schools will also require that teacher candidates be fingerprinted prior to their student teaching practicum; some districts require fingerprinting for any field work conducted in their schools.
View the complete degree pathway.
For additional information contact the School of Education.