The Graduate School of Education and Human Development received a $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to launch a new online master’s degree program in secondary transition service, according to a University release Monday.

The program is aimed at teachers who work with students with “high-needs disabilities” as they transition from secondary school to adulthood, according to the release. The grant will also fund partial financial aid for 45 students in the program over the next five years.

The program, offered to both teachers and non-teachers, is the first of its kind online. It is also the first to focus on students with acute brain injury and autism, which are groups identified as “high-need” by the Department of Education, according to the release.

Michael Feuer, the dean of GSEHD, said in the release that the school was “honored” by the Department of Education’s recognition.

“One of our main goals as a school is to prepare future educators committed to expanding opportunities and transforming the lives of their students,” Feuer said in the release.

The first students can enroll in the course starting this September and the program will continue for the next five years, according to the release.

Because it is an online course, officials expect that the 36-credit program will attract working professionals, parents of young children, people switching careers and those who live in “geographically isolated locations,” according to the release.

Carol Kochhar-Bryant, a GSEHD senior associate dean, said in the release that teachers are often hesitant to enroll in graduate programs, especially in special education, because they are “inconvenient and costly.”

“We hope that by equipping more passionate and qualified teachers with the latest research and practices in these areas, we can help improve learning outcomes for students with high-needs disabilities,” Kochhar-Bryant said in the release.