Curriculum Proposal
Master's and Doctorate
The curriculum currently proposed for the Graduate Program in Special Education includes a list of subjects of different natures, for the Master's and Doctorate. The compulsory subjects make up a fixed list for all students, with a differentiation between the list for the master's and the doctorate. Such disciplines are those most directly related and essential for the development of students' competences, desired by the program. In the case of the Master's, the compulsory subjects introduce the student to a variety of topics and research methodologies possible in Special Education. For the Doctorate, the compulsory subjects aim to develop the student's commitment to the dissemination of knowledge as an essential part of the research process.
Subjects
The curricular organization is based on credit units, where each unit is equivalent to 15 hours of programmed activities in different activities (classes, seminars, laboratory or field work, research, monitoring, study and preparation of the dissertation or thesis). Table 1 presents the requirements established by law for obtaining the title (Program’s Internal Regulations - Opinion of the Graduate and Research Chamber No. 61 of 09/10/2014).
Table 1. Requirements for Obtaining Titles
| Masters | Doctorate | |
| Total credits | 100 | 200 |
| Number of credits in Subjects/Deadline | 35/1 years | 55/2 years |
| Qualification exam/Deadline | 18 months | 30 months |
| Dissertation or Thesis Defense / Maximum Term | 24 months | 42 months |
| Credits for Dissertation and Thesis | 65 | 145 |
Teaching Activities
Table 2 presents the curriculum currently proposed for the Graduate Program in Special Education, with the list of disciplines of different natures, for the Master's and Doctorate. The compulsory subjects make up a fixed list for all students, with a differentiation between the list for the master's and the doctorate. Such disciplines are those most directly related and essential for the development of students' competences, desired by the program. In the case of the Master's, the compulsory subjects introduce the student to a variety of topics and research methodologies possible in Special Education. In the case of the Doctorate, the compulsory subjects aim to develop the student's commitment to the dissemination of knowledge as an essential part of the research process.
The compulsory subjects in the concentration area aim to characterize the educational reality of individuals with special educational needs in the country, carry out critical analyzes of this context and derive ways of acting in this reality. They have as a more general objective to increase the student's competence to problematize the area, derive research questions and assess the relevance of specific studies to advance scientific knowledge in Special Education. This group of subjects is composed of a list, from which the student will make some choices, depending on his interest in mastering political and conceptual aspects in greater depth, training human resources in the area, the relationship between regular and special education systems or about specialized teaching techniques, among others.
The elective courses have two objectives: the first would be to allow for a deeper study on the specific topic of the student's research, linked to one of the lines of research. The second objective would be to equip the student to master, with the highest level of skill possible, the research methodology selected for their study. This group will be composed of a very varied cast of disciplines, whose offer will be the responsibility of the professors linked to the lines of research, and will allow a greater flexibility of individual curricula. In addition to those contained in the Characterization Sheets filed at the Secretariat, new ones may be added, provided they are approved in the Program’s Graduate’s Commission.