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The online master’s degree in early childhood special education and autism from MU will help you design, deliver and evaluate services to children from birth to age 5. If you want to advance your career working with young children with autism and other disabilities, this may be the degree for you.
Quick facts
Official name
Master of Education in Special Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood Special Education and AutismCampus
Program type
Master's degreeAcademic home
College of Education & Human Development | Department of Special EducationDelivery mode
100% onlineAccreditation
Higher Learning CommissionCredit hours
30Estimated cost
$18,228.00*This cost is for illustrative purposes only. Your hours and costs will differ, depending on your transfer hours, your course choices and your academic progress. See more about tuition and financial aid.
Career prospects
This degree has potential benefits for
- Early childhood practitioners
- Early interventionists
- Child-care center workers
- Head Start teachers
- School counselors
- Special education teachers
Program structure
Delivery of this program is 100 percent online: no campus visits are required.
Courses are semester-based. Students typically take one or two classes each semester and finish in two years.
This program emphasizes
- Assessment methods
- Characteristics of children with autism, including those who are high functioning
- Home-based models for infants and toddlers
- Language and early literacy development
- Research-based intervention strategies
Delivery
100% onlineCalendar system
Semester-basedTypical program length
2 yearsTypical course load
1 or 2 classes each semesterAccreditation
The University of Missouri is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States.
Faculty spotlight
Jena Randolph is an assistant research professor and the training and education division director with the University of Missouri’s Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment. Her experience has a focus on collaborative and coordinated care for individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. She is one of the primary developers of the Training Experts in Autism for Missouri (TEAM) program, which provides autism training and support to professionals across disciplines throughout the state and of the Self-Determined Transition Readiness through Individual Vocational Experiences (STRIVE) program, which provides direct instruction, work experiences and peer mentorship to enhance employment readiness for young adults with autism.
Nargiza Buranova is an assistant professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Missouri. Dr. Buranova's research focuses on social skills intervention for students with autism spectrum disorder and technologies to support the social skills development of students. Dr. Buranova is also interested in studying the impact of social skills performance on mental health and the ways the interventions can be used to support these skills among adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.
Brandi Schumacher is an assistant teaching professor in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Missouri. Dr. Schumacher is an expert in early childhood education and early childhood special education. Her academic interests focus on enhancing teaching and learning in higher education, designing active and engaging learning experiences and supporting sustainable work-life balance for educators.