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Education Major

Major

The School of Education offers a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Education that allows students to pursue one of the following two options:

  • Disability Studies for Educational and Community Organizations Option
  • Elementary and Moderate Disabilities Option

Disability Studies for Educational and Community Organizations Option

The non-licensure Disability Studies for Educational and Community Organizations option offers students an alternative route to complete a BA. Ed. degree that offers an efficient and viable career pathway to work with educational and community institutions. The students completing this option could pursue an education-related career pathway in for example: hospital units; residential schools; tutoring programs; recreational and youth programs (e.g. YMCA); private/parochial schools; special education private schools and programs; youth programming; graduate school (e.g. guidance/counseling; social work). Students could also take advantage of UML’s B2M options. This option follows a different sequence of courses for the senior year and does not lead to licensure. Students may be recommended for this option if there are concerns about a student’s professionalism or readiness for classroom teaching. Students may also pursue this option in consultation with their advisor or program coordinator during their junior year. The Disability Studies for Educational and Community Organizations option will allow students to successfully graduate within four years and still be competitive in the job market.

Elementary and Moderate Disabilities Option

The Elementary and Moderate Disabilities Option combines work in the liberal arts and sciences with education courses and field-based experiences. The option is unique in that all students who are admitted to the BA. Ed. in Elementary and Moderate Disabilities 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. 

View all the complete degree pathways.

For additional information contact the School of Education.