Admission

Depending on county requirements, there may be two application procedures for cohort applicants.  Applicants must submit a graduate application (not non-degree) to George Mason University. They must also contact their county to determine if there is an application required by the county.  If so, the student must complete both the application to George Mason University and the application to the county. Cohort students are encouraged to print the step-by-step instructions for applying to Mason and follow them carefully to avoid delays in processing that can impede students' ability to continue with coursework.

GMU Special Education Program Application Deadlines:

• Fall (Students accepted for fall are allowed to register for summer classes): Rolling Admissions, April 1st priority. For summer, students must be accepted prior to the start of their summer course. For fall, applications will not be reviewed after August 15th, provided space is still available.
• Spring: Rolling admissions, November 1st priority. Complete applications will be reviewed until January 5th, provided space is available. No applications will be reviewed after this date
• Summer: Rolling admissions, February 1st priority. Complete applications will be reviewed until May 1st, provided space is available. No applications will be reviewed after this date.

First-time Students: Quick Admission Requirements and Process

In certain circumstances George Mason University allows students taking Special Education contract or cohort courses to bypass the formal university admissions process and be admitted for one semester only to Quick Admit (QA) Non-Degree status. To be eligible for Quick Admit status students must not have been previously quick-admitted and must provide the necessary documentation for QA status to the Outreach Program Enrollment office prior to or on the first night of class. This QA process requires less documentation than the formal application process and the active student status that results is temporary.  Any student who is quick admitted must go through the formal admissions process  in its entirety and be accepted to the Special Education program in Graduate status in order to proceed with their Special Education coursework beyond that first semester.

Some local school districts partner with Mason to offer Special Education cohort programs. These school district have different participant eligibility guidelines. Some may have district-specific application processes in addition to Mason’s. To help share information about the cohort program to current school district employees, partner school districts typically hold at least one cohort program information session per semester. Each school district disseminates information about the date, time and location of any cohort information sessions internally through school district announcement systems. Currently, cohort information sessions are held in Fairfax County Public Schools, Loudoun County Public Schools, and Prince William County Public Schools.

Information session attendees receive the following handouts:

• Cohort Information Session Letter
• Masters in Special Education with K-12 General Curriculum Licensure Sample Cohort Plan, Spring semester start
• Masters in Special Education with K-12 General Curriculum Licensure Sample Cohort Plan, Fall semester start
• Cohort Program Steps for Applying
• Registration & Payment Policies

Additionally, for information session attendees from Fairfax County Public Schools or Loudoun, the following handouts include information on the Adapted Curriculum cohort program (note the Adapted Curriculum cohort program is not currently offered in Prince William):

• Masters in Special Education K-12 Adapted Curriculum Sample Cohort Plan.

  Not a current school district employee? Contact us for information on other program options.