Program Details
The Master of Education in Special Education at City University of Seattle was designed for active classroom teachers who want to take control of their education with our performance-based learning structure. You’ll tailor your learning to meet the needs of your current classroom, utilizing research-based educational methods to develop the teaching areas you want to work on.
- Flexible learning: CityU’s master’s degree in special education utilizes your current classroom for onsite internship opportunities. Beyond this in-person element, you can complete your assignments, write-ups, assessments and projects almost exclusively online.
- Time to completion: Candidates typically graduate in nine quarters; however, you can set your own pace and graduate in as few as seven quarters or up to four years.
- Special education endorsement: This program gives you the opportunity to earn a first-time Washington State special education endorsement, helping you shift into a special education teaching role.
- WEST-E® preparation: We’ll make sure you complete appropriate internships and help you prepare for the Washington Educator Skills Test.
- Practitioner faculty: Our faculty is made up of educational leaders with a range of expertise so you can benefit from the best of current research, diversity and global educational practices.
- Admissions requirements: Your current teaching certificate and accredited bachelor’s degree is all you need to apply to our M.Ed. in Special Education program.
This online special education degree program is one of our most hands-on, personalized programs at CityU. We offer a multitude of resources as well as professional collaboration and detailed faculty feedback so you can track your progress and make the most of each opportunity as you learn.
If you want to take your teaching to the next level or move into a leadership role in your district, a CityU special education master’s degree can help position you for success. Contact an advisor to get started today.
Dr. Krissy Jones
A Q&A with Dr. Krissy Jones, Academic Program Director, Master of Education
Q: What is your terminal degree in and where did you get it from?
A: PhD from the University of Washington.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I am a mom of two boys so anything involving sports and being active.
Q: What classes do you teach?
A: MEd courses mostly.
Q: Why did you decide to start teaching?
A: As a kid I would always pretend to be a teacher. It has been in me since I was born.
Q: Why do you enjoy teaching at CityU?
A: The diversity! We have candidates in the Master of Education programs from all over the world. I love how we get to hear and learn from teachers who are teaching all over the world.
Q: What’s one thing you always tell your students that may or may not relate to your class?
A: Fully embrace any experience you get! I never thought I would leave K-12 but then I was asked to be a guest speaker in a college class and one thing led to another. Never say never!
Q: What might you tell a student who was thinking of taking one of your classes?
A: What’s best about the Instructional Master of Education degrees is that the learning is directly applicable to current situations. The way they are structured has candidates in the program directly utilizing their current teaching situations to guide their learning and accomplish the outcomes. It is completely customizable to best meet their needs.
Q: What is something that you have learned from end-of-course evaluations that you applied later on?
A: You can never send too many reminders.
Sofia Saltwick
A Q&A with Sofia Saltwick, Associate Faculty
Q: What is your terminal degree in and where did you get it from?
A: Master in Teaching from City University of Seattle.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: Travel, gardening, going to the beach, reading good books, taking classes.
Q: What classes do you teach?
A: National Board Certification, ESL, Special Education, teaching methods.
Q: Why did you decide to start teaching?
A: I wanted to teach since I was a child, pretending to be a teacher with leftover worksheets from school.
Q: Why do you enjoy teaching at CityU?
A: I’ve wanted to pay it forward since I received my degree from CityU and have had the best career of my life!
Q: What’s one thing you always tell your students that may or may not relate to your class?
A: Teaching is the most rewarding and challenging experience I have ever encountered, each day is different and you get to start over each day!
Q: Any fond CityU memories that you can share?
A: The skills I learned in my classes was directly applicable in my teaching profession, maybe not right away but those skills did find a way into my teaching. I also met some great fellow teachers I still am in contact with today.
Q: What might you tell a student who was thinking of taking one of your classes?
A: Trust the process, all of the classes build on each other and while it may seem scattered at times, it all comes together in the end.
Q: What is something that you have learned from end-of-course evaluations that you applied later on?
A: To spend more time on some of the assignments, write out study guides to help keep students stay on task.
Karen Eichler
A Q&A with Karen Eichler, Principal Faculty
Q: What is your terminal degree in and where did you get it from?
A: My MEd in Curriculum and Instruction was earned at Kent State University, where I also reached the all but dissertation level in a doctoral program with a special emphasis on literacy.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I love rowing, and go out once a week with my crew. Cooking is my passion and I enjoy entertaining our friends. Reading is my idea of a relaxing pastime and I usually have several books and journals underway so I can browse between non-fiction and the quick-read NY Times best sellers. And then, there are Scrabble games!
Q: What classes do you teach?
A: I have been instructing and facilitating literacy, language development and assessment courses at the graduate and undergraduate level.
Q: Why did you decide to start teaching?
A: I suppose I could say it was because my mother, grandmother, and great-grandfather were all teachers. But that only set a career stage for me. Maybe there is a teaching gene, but I discovered at a very early age that teaching and learning with others is deeply satisfying and rewarding.
Q: Why do you enjoy teaching at CityU?
A: I’ve had the opportunity to learn the dimensions of adult education, seeing the differences — and similarities — in comparison with my previous experiences in the K-12 public school setting. I have had the opportunity to help design new programs, write curricula, and interact with online students around the world. These students bring a wide array of interesting and sometimes challenging diversities to distance education. Being able to interact and collaborate with fellow staff members in a variety of different settings, from conferences to Skype, provides support as well as a source of new ideas.
Q: What’s one thing you always tell your students that may or may not relate to your class?
A: I am a perfectionist who can appreciate learning from mistakes, because I’ve made one or two!
Q: Any fond CityU memories that you can share?
A: Teaching online doesn’t often afford you the opportunity to actually meet your students face to face. Their names are very familiar and their online voices become distinctive, but actually meeting them at graduation, sharing smiles and high fives, makes me misty-eyed.
Q: What might you tell a student who was thinking of taking one of your classes?
A: I try to make it clear that my expectations will always be high and that I will be their guide-on-the-side to help them meet those expectations. A shared goal will be that they end the quarter feeling their work is rewarded by more than a grade. They’ll have the knowledge of personal accomplishment.
Q: What is something that you have learned from end-of-course evaluations that you applied later on?
A: One concern shared by all students, young and old, is the need for prompt feedback. I try to respond as soon as possible to all emails, but sometimes staying on top of assessments can become very time intensive. In terms of self-evaluation and reflection, turnaround time is a benchmark that’s always on my mind, a personal improvement goal.
Dr. Abigail Nubla-Kung
A Q&A with Dr. Abigail Nubla-Kung, Associate Faculty
Q: What is your terminal degree in and where did you get it from?
A: PhD, Teachers College, Columbia University.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: Read (I belong to a book club), play with my kids, binge watch shows on Netflix.
Q: What classes do you teach?
A: Research Methodology.
Q: Why did you decide to start teaching?
A: Have always been a teacher, one way or another since college.
Q: Why do you enjoy teaching at CityU?
A: Flexibility of modality, hours, etc. Support of administrators and colleagues.
Q: What’s one thing you always tell your students that may or may not relate to your class?
A: The weather! My background and why education is important to me and why I want to help them.
Q: Any fond CityU memories that you can share?
A: I enjoy the camaraderie with other teachers, from meetings to phone calls to emails. It’s great to know I work with such intelligent and warm-hearted people.
Q: What might you tell a student who was thinking of taking one of your classes?
A: They’ve got their work cut out for them and while boundaries are important, I’m there as much as they need me.
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