University adds online masters degree in education

University adds online masters degree in education

The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), an online education provider, has recently announced that it is now offering a masters degree in education through its department of curriculum, instruction and special education.

The program was developed to include areas of special education that focus on gifted studies, emotional and behavioral disorders as well as mild and moderate disabilities.

USM designed the program for educators who are working full-time and need the flexibility of a part-time online option.

"We want our graduate coursework to be more accessible to working educators," said special education coordinator Hollie Filce. "Three of our four emphasis areas are already fully online, and we anticipate gifted studies to be fully online in the near future," she added.

Educators who are only looking to receive certification may also enroll in online courses as non-degree seeking students. USM officials are hopeful that the school will offer online programs in elementary and secondary education beginning next summer.

Today, over 3.5 million students are taking online courses and earning online college degrees. At the secondary school level, over 700,000 high school students are taking one or more courses online and nearly 40 states have established state-led virtual schools.