Certified elementary or secondary teachers may obtain an endorsement in learning disabilities (Code SM) by pursuing a master of arts in education degree with a concentration in learning disabilities (LD). Certified teachers not pursuing the master of arts in education degree may elect to pursue only the endorsement. All students, regardless of program choice, must meet basic core competencies in reading, mathematics, and psychology and must have completed a survey course in exceptionalities. Those lacking preparation in any of these areas will need to extend their programs beyond the normally required hours, in order to acquire these prerequisites.
The faculty adviser will direct the plan for each program and evaluate students’ undergraduate and graduate credits to pin-point any core area deficiencies and determine equivalencies of any prior work. These determinations will become the foundation for an appropriate plan of study.
Students entering this preparatory program are required to have taught for at least one year.
Courses listed below are required of all students in the master of arts program.
Those seeking the endorsement are not required to take the research component.
Total Credits Required for Degree 35
Research (5 credits)
ED 500A Educational Research (3)
ED 500B Seminar in Educational Research (2)
Concentration (17-28 credits)
ED 560 Special Education in the Schools* (2)
ED 562 Introduction to Learning Disabilities (3)
ED 563 Organization and Management of Learning Disabled Programs (3)
ED 565 Methods for Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities (4)
ED 568 Supervised Practicum and Seminar: Students with Learning Disabilities (4)
ED 571 Diagnosis and Treatment of Reading Difficulties or equivalent (3-4)
ED 405 Diagnosis and Assessment in Special Education* (4)
Electives (0-4)
Cognates (8-18 credits)
ED 561 Collaboration for School Professionals: General and Special Education (2)
CD 456 Language and Learning Disabilities (4)
ED 504 Psychology of Education (2)
Behavioral Analysis for Teachers Elective* (3)
ED 596 Behavior Modification and Integration in the Classroom is recommended. (1-4)
Elementary Math Methods/Elementary Multi-Sensory Math Elective
**MA 353 Methods and Materials in the Teaching of Elementary School Math or ED 596 Hands-On Multi-Sensory Math (2-3)
ED 511 Language Arts* (or equivalent) (2)
Applied linguistics elective*
ED 596 Multi-Sensory Approaches for Teaching Reading is recommended. (2)
* To meet State of Michigan regulations, students must satisfy all of these requirements. Students who already satisfy these requirements, whether from undergraduate preparation or through another area of endorsement, would not be required to include them in their MAE plan and appropriate electives would be substituted.
**MA 353 is an undergraduate course. The course content can be used as substitution for this requirement, but the credit hours must be made up with graduate level credits. (See note above).
Note: To obtain the additional endorsement in learning disabilities (K-12) from the State of Michigan, one needs to pass the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) in Learning Disabilities and to file the appropriate application with the Northern Michigan University Registrar’s Office.
