Hi Everyone!  I have just recently received my education specialist (I teach special ed) in California and my district pays pretty well for those who get their masters degree.  However I am looking for a school that offers a non-thesis masters program online.  The many searches I have done have uncovered little other than those dreaded degree mills.  I have no problem taking the classes but I am so over conducting research and writing like 100 pages.  I know they are out there but often they are not in education related fields.  Anyone know of anything that might help?

<HUGE grin> I don't think that will be a problem!  Naturally, the actual requirements will vary, but generally distance learning programs are going with a substantially 'better' model that is magnitudes more practical in my opinion with some combination of real world capstone project - possibly a portfolio of your best work (e.g. from coursework), a reflective essay, yada-yada-yada, and a product or service.  You'll still have to do some significant research and write it up, just in a different form - because those are characteristic of what a master's degree is all about ;-)

One example is WGU - http://www.wgu.edu/education/master_science_special_education.asp and http://www.wiredinstructor.com/profdev/multicultural/map2.html for an online example of a product (Instruction design).

 

Hi usul - here's a page from the eLearners website that you may have missed

http://www.elearners.com/online-degrees/master/special-education.htm

Also, here's a search link that you could follow

http://www.google.com/search?as_q=masters+degree+special+education+&hl=en&num=100&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=distance+learning&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=.edu&as_rights=&safe=images

Usul:

Grand Canyon University (www.gcu.edu) is a brick and mortar school located in Phoenix, AZ that offers an online master's degree in special education. You may want to take a look at the program to see if it offers what you are looking for. If you are a military veteran, you will receive a scholarship. I am currently enrolled in their MBA program and I love it. The program is rigorous, but I love the fact that classes are only eight weeks long and are taken one at a time. You can double up if you want to, but I wouldn't recommend it.