Learn to teach children with varying capacities and needs in general, inclusive, or self-contained education settings through hands-on student teaching experience and collaboration with families and education professionals. Upon graduation, you will be eligible for New York State initial teaching certification in both Childhood Education and Childhood Special Education, grades 1–6.
Degree Details
Official Degree Title
Bachelor of Science in Childhood Education and Childhood Special Education, Grades 1-6, Initial Certification
Format
Full-time or Part-time
Credits
128–134
Start Date
Fall
Application Deadlines
Early Decision
Early Decision 2
Regular Decision
Internal Transfer Applications
Transfer Applications
A Focus on How Children Learn and Develop
You will gain a firm knowledge of how children grow and develop, with an emphasis on variability in development; a mastery of core liberal arts subjects, including mathematics, English/language arts, and social studies; and skills for creating rich, child-centered instructional environments, and for adapting those environments to meet the diverse needs of students.
A Strong Emphasis on Liberal Arts
The liberal arts core of this bachelor’s program ensures that you will receive the best possible training to be a teacher. For your liberal arts concentration, you can choose from such areas as history, psychology, literacy, science, and many others in NYU's College of Arts and Science. Through NYU Steinhardt, you will take course work on human development, educational foundations, and inquiry-based education.
Study Abroad
You'll have the unique opportunity to take a Human Development course through NYU London or NYU Accra. The course includes weekly observations in British or Ghanaian schools and classrooms for firsthand learning in the local context. You'll typically combine this course with three liberal arts electives for an unforgettable semester-long experience. You may also spend a semester abroad at one of NYU's many other study abroad sites.
Field Experiences
Throughout your freshman and sophomore years, you will have opportunities to work in Grades 1–3 and Grades 4–6 settings, in both general education and special education, acquiring valuable teaching experience as you launch your professional career. In your junior year, you will have four student teaching experiences, supervised by a cooperating teacher at your school site and a member of our faculty.
You will graduate eligible for New York State initial teaching certification in both Childhood Education and Childhood Special Education for Grades 1–6. You’ll be prepared for a variety of careers, including:
- Lead or team teacher in general, inclusive, and special education settings
- Elementary school supervisor, counselor, psychologist, librarian, or administrator
- Curriculum specialist or staff developer in childhood education and childhood special education programs
- Resource room teacher, consulting teacher, itinerant teacher, or assistant teacher
- Social service agency caseworker
- Curriculum developer
- Inclusion coordinator
- After-school program director
- Children's book editor or children's television producer
Learn more about teacher certification and our accreditation.
One of my priorities was finding a program that treated general and special education as equally important, and NYU was one of the few that did. The robust student teaching experiences offered here gave me an extensive understanding of what being a classroom teacher is like. NYU also offered diversity in faculty and students, which was important to me because I wanted to learn from people who reflected my experiences and those who didn't since teaching is a people-centric profession.
— Kira Santos, BS '23
Questions
If you have any additional questions about our degree, please feel free to contact program directors Katie Newhouse at newhouse@nyu.edu for Special Education and Heather Woodley for Childhood Education at hwoodley@nyu.edu.
Scholarships for Graduate Study
If you’re interested in graduate study, we offer generous scholarships for advanced study to graduating seniors who want to continue on for a master's degree in NYU Steinhardt's Teaching and Learning Department.
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