Loyola’s New Special Education Degree: What It Means for Maryland’s Teacher Shortage

Special education accounted for roughly one in four teacher vacancies in Maryland during the 2023-24 school year, making it one of the state's most persistent shortage areas. Loyola University Maryland is responding directly with a new Bachelor of Arts in Special Education, scheduled to launch in Fall 2027.

The undergraduate program prepares candidates for Maryland licensure in either elementary/middle or secondary/adult special education, with coursework in assessment, behavior management, and literacy instruction grounded in the science of reading. A required year-long senior internship places students in Baltimore-area partner schools. For current educators, the new BA is less a substitute for a Maryland online master's in education than an early-entry pipeline, and it arrives as Maryland districts continue to hire special education teachers before certification is complete.

Loyola's New BA in Special Education: What the Program Covers

A four-year bachelor's degree and a master's in special education can both lead to Maryland special education licensure, but they start from very different points. Loyola University Maryland's new Bachelor of Arts in Special Education is designed for undergraduate students who know early that they want to serve students with disabilities. For those considering graduate study later, it also signals a deeper institutional focus on special education.

Two Licensure Tracks

The program launches in Fall 2027 and prepares students for Maryland teacher licensure in either elementary/middle special education or secondary/adult special education. Students choose the track that matches the age range they want to teach, and the program was created because special education is one of Maryland's most in-demand certification areas. Both tracks follow the same CEC-aligned core but differ in field placements and age-specific methods coursework.

What You'll Study

Coursework is grounded in the standards of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Core courses cover assessment, behavior management, collaboration, curriculum and instruction, and literacy instruction rooted in the science of reading. Each course emphasizes evidence-based practices and inclusive education. Clinical experiences begin early with about two to three hours per week in a school setting, building toward a year-long senior internship in Baltimore-area partner schools. Mentoring comes from experienced teachers and Loyola clinical faculty.

Room to Go Beyond the Core

Students can use six free electives to explore interdisciplinary interests. Options include speech-language-hearing sciences, early childhood education, multilingual learner (ESOL) education, educational leadership, and psychology. This flexibility lets future special educators add complementary skills without delaying graduation.

Afra Ahmed Hersi, Ph.D., dean of Loyola's School of Education, describes the program as connecting a liberal arts education with a high-demand profession. Kristine E. Larson, Ed.D., program director of Special Education, says the goal is to prepare "highly qualified special educators" for Maryland classrooms. For full program details, see Loyola University Maryland's official announcement.

Why Maryland Needs More Special Education Teachers Right Now

Special education has become one of Maryland's most persistent and consequential teacher shortage areas, and the state's own data make the scale of the problem clear. In 2023-24, special education accounted for about one in four teacher vacancies statewide, with 447 open positions reported.¹ The prior year was even starker, with 581 special education vacancies in 2022-23.² Nationwide, federal data show more than 406,000 teaching positions were unfilled or held by someone not fully certified in 2024,³ and special education remains among the hardest fields to staff across urban, suburban, and rural districts alike.

Conditional Licensure Is a Warning Sign

Maryland's shortage is not just about empty classrooms. It is also about who fills them. More than one in five conditionally certified teachers in the state are special educators, representing 1,135 of 5,304 conditionally certified teachers.¹ Statewide, 11.6 percent of special education teachers hold conditional certification, but in nonpublic schools that figure reaches 25 percent.⁴ That means many students with disabilities are taught by educators still working toward full certification, including teacher certification exams, often while managing heavy caseloads and complex IEP requirements.

The Classroom Cost of Understaffing

When special education positions go unfilled or are covered by long-term substitutes and conditionally certified teachers, students with disabilities lose consistent access to specially designed instruction, behavior supports, and the follow-through their individualized plans require. In a state where roughly 12 percent of students have an identified disability,¹ that instability affects thousands of learners who need predictability most.

Loyola's Timing Aligns With the Need

Loyola's new BA in Special Education arrives as school systems across Maryland are actively recruiting qualified special educators. Dean Afra Ahmed Hersi, Ph.D., describes the program as pairing a liberal arts education with a high-demand profession, while Kristine E. Larson, Ed.D., program director, emphasizes the urgent need for highly qualified special educators. The program's clinical placements in Baltimore-area partner schools are designed to build a direct pipeline into the districts facing some of the deepest shortages.

From Classroom Hours to Licensure: How the Program Prepares Graduates

Maryland special education licensure entered a new phase in 2025, shifting from a Praxis pedagogy exam to a required performance assessment for candidates finishing preparation programs after June of that year.¹ Loyola's BA is structured around that expectation: students accumulate classroom time early and complete a year-long internship before they apply for initial certification.

Clinical experience is built in early

Loyola's program pairs gradual field exposure with sustained practice. During the first three years, candidates complete early field experiences of roughly two to three hours per week in school settings.² Some specialized field components run closer to three to four hours per week.³ Senior year brings a full-year internship in a Baltimore-area partner school, where candidates work alongside experienced cooperating teachers and receive supervision from Loyola clinical faculty.

What the curriculum signals to Maryland evaluators

The coursework aligns with what MSDE licensure reviewers and employers tend to look for: specially designed instruction, assessment, behavior management, collaboration, literacy grounded in the science of reading, and evidence-based practices for inclusive classrooms. The clinical hours let candidates document applied experience as they move toward Maryland's application process.

Maryland special education licensure: the step-by-step path

For most new candidates in 2026, the sequence looks like this:

• Complete an approved program: Finish Loyola's BA in special education, which is designed to meet Maryland's teaching certification requirements for elementary/middle or secondary/adult certification.
• Meet basic skills requirements: Most recent degree GPA of 3.0 or higher can waive Praxis Core⁴; otherwise, Praxis Core reading and writing scores or approved SAT/ACT alternatives are required.⁵
• Pass content and reading exams: Maryland currently directs new test takers to the Praxis 5355 special education exam⁶ and the Science of Reading Praxis 5205.⁷ Older Praxis 5354 scores remain usable only through August 31, 2026.⁶
• Satisfy reading coursework: Expect 12 semester hours of reading for early childhood/elementary or 6 for secondary/adult.⁷
• Complete a performance assessment: edTPA or PPAT is required after June 30, 2025.¹
• Submit to MSDE: Apply through the Maryland State Department of Education's TEACH portal and complete the required background check.⁸

Out-of-state and career changers

Maryland recognizes approved out-of-state preparation programs through teacher license reciprocity, which can shorten the path for licensed educators relocating to the state.⁴ Applicants should still expect to submit transcripts, test scores, and licensure documentation for MSDE review, since specific test equivalences and waivers are not standardized across every case.

BA Vs. M.ed. In Special Education: Which Path Fits Your Career Stage?

A high school diploma qualifies you for the new Bachelor of Arts in Special Education¹, while Loyola's M.Ed. requires a completed bachelor's degree². That single requirement is the clearest dividing line in this teacher certification pathways comparison.

• BA in Special Education: Undergraduate degree; high school diploma; Maryland licensure in elementary/middle or secondary/adult.¹
• M.Ed. in Special Education: Graduate degree; completed bachelor's degree; Maryland licensure; fits current educators and career changers.²

Who Each Degree Serves

The BA is designed for undergraduates entering college with the goal of becoming special education teachers. It prepares candidates for Maryland licensure in either elementary/middle or secondary/adult special education¹. The M.Ed. is the graduate route. It fits two groups: licensed educators in general or special education who want graduate-level preparation, and career changers who already hold a bachelor's degree and need a faster post-baccalaureate route to initial licensure².

Program Length and Format

Loyola's M.Ed. in Special Education is a hybrid program; candidates comparing M.Ed. programs Maryland will find synchronous online classes and an in-person internship. Full-time students can finish in as little as one year.² The BA follows the standard undergraduate timeline, with early field experiences of about two to three hours per week and a required year-long senior internship.¹ Both options end in the same Maryland special education license³, but the M.Ed. compresses the timeline for students who have already completed general education and prerequisite work.

Career Entry Point

BA graduates typically enter the field as first-year special education teachers after student teaching and licensure.¹ M.Ed. graduates may enter teaching for the first time through a career change, or they may move into positions where graduate coursework supports salary advancement or a teacher leadership degree.² Loyola's graduate program also frames the M.Ed. as advanced professional development.² Because the BA's full credit totals and format details are not yet published, prospective students should compare program plans directly with Loyola.¹

What Special Education Teachers Earn in Maryland

According to 2024 figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Maryland special education teachers earn median annual wages from roughly $69,000 to $79,000 depending on grade span. The 25th to 75th percentile range shows realistic earning spread for newer and experienced teachers. The Baltimore area is the most relevant market for Loyola graduates, though this table uses state-level figures because metro-area salary data is not separately available in this dataset. School districts competing for scarce candidates may offer signing bonuses or loan forgiveness that standard wage figures do not capture.

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Tuition, Scholarships, and How to Apply

Loyola's special education BA is priced under the university's standard undergraduate tuition, not a separate School of Education rate, and the federal TEACH Grant is the clearest program-linked funding source for students who plan to teach in high-need schools.³

Tuition at a Glance

For 2026-27, the published costs break down as follows:

• Full-time BA: $30,905 per semester, about $61,810 per year¹
• Part-time BA: $975 per credit in fall/spring, $650 per credit in summer¹
• M.Ed. and other School of Education graduate programs: $745 per credit²

The BA and M.Ed. differ not only in academic level but also in how costs are structured. Full-time undergraduates pay a flat semester amount regardless of credit load, while accredited special education master's programs are billed per credit.

TEACH Grant and Other Aid

The TEACH Grant is the main award tied directly to special education teaching. It carries a nominal maximum of $4,000 per year, but Loyola's published disbursement amount is lower: full-time students may receive $1,257 per semester, or $3,772 per year; half-time and less-than-half-time students receive proportionally less.³ To keep the grant, recipients must teach four years in a high-need field at a low-income school.³ Special education qualifies as a high-need area in Maryland.³ No named School of Education scholarships or assistantships with 2026 award amounts appeared in the available public materials, so prospective students should ask Loyola's financial aid office about additional institutional aid, and graduate applicants can review M.Ed. scholarships. Completing the FAFSA is the first step for federal aid eligibility, and special education majors can also ask about general university scholarships that are not tied to a specific academic department.

Applying for Fall 2027

Loyola has not published separate GPA cutoffs, prerequisites, or program-specific application requirements for the new special education BA as of August 2026. Admission follows the university's general undergraduate process, but the school has not stated a selectivity figure for this major. Because the program launches in Fall 2027, early applicants may have fewer historical data points to gauge competitiveness; treat the lack of a published GPA minimum as an invitation to ask the admission office directly. For the Fall 2027 launch, students should watch Loyola's undergraduate admission deadlines and submit materials through the standard undergraduate application. Direct questions about the special education major to the School of Education or Loyola's undergraduate admission office.

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