M.S. Early Intervention

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Early Intervention
Master of Science The University of Southern Mississippi
Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education
School of Family and Consumer Sciences

Life Span Stages: Birth through Age Five

General Information: The Master of Science in Early Intervention is an interdisciplinary program designed to prepare professionals to work with children aged birth through five years who have special needs. The program is offered through both the School of Family and Consumer Science and the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education. Interested persons, depending upon their experiences and interests, may apply to either academic unit. The program maintains active teaching, research, and service links to the Institute for Disability Studies, which offers application sites, graduate assistantships, and other support services to the program.

Academic preparation includes information on both typical and atypical early human development as a basis for assessing special needs and designing appropriate interventions and family supports. The program includes intensive work in the areas of assessment and intervention, family-centered practices, interdisciplinary team building, and collaboration among professional agencies and disciplines.

Program graduates are qualified to work in a variety of positions within public schools, child care, mental health, and private and public health systems. Graduates are prepared for direct service roles as well as administrative/ leadership positions.

Applicants' credentials are evaluated by faculty in the relevant areas. Among the criteria used to determine admission are GRE scores, undergraduate GPA, performance in individual courses related to the major, work experience, and letters of recommendation. All applicants are expected to have some undergraduate background in related course work, in most cases a minimum of 21 semester hours. Upon acceptance into the program, students work with an academic advisor and a graduate committee, which will make the final determination regarding the specific courses required to remedy any deficiencies in undergraduate preparation. In particular, applicants will be expected to have the equivalent of the: SPE 400/500, The Psychology and Education of the Exceptional Individual, and CD 451/551, Infant Development (with laboratory). Students who have not completed the equivalent of these two courses will be required to take them and the hours will not count toward the 36 semester hours required for the Masters degree.

Required Course of Study:

School of Family and Consumer Sciences			Department of Curriculum, Instruction and the Special Education and
CD	550	Administration of Programs	SPE	770	Administration and Supervision of Programs
CD	650	Advanced Child Development	CD	650	Advanced Child Development
CD	651	Trends and Theories in Child Development	CD	651	Trends and Theories in Child Development
FAM	651	Parents and Children	SPE	598	Families of Children with Disabilities
CD	688	Medical Aspects of Developmental Disabilities	SPE	688	Medical Aspects of Developmental Disabilities
SPE	645	Severe/Profound Disabilities	SPE	645	Severe/Profound Disabilities
SHS	730	Language Intervention with Children	SHS	730	Language Intervention with Children
CD	629	Intervention Procedures for Young Children with Special Needs	SPE	629	Intervention Procedures for Young Children with Special Needs
FAM	691	Research in FCS (or REF 601)	REF	601	Introduction to Research
CD	655	Practicum	SPE	644	Practicum
Application for admission is made to the Graduate School Box 5024 Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5024. Telephone: (601) 266-5137 http://www.usm.edu/graduatestudies/
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