To best meet the needs of our students, we have decided to suspend enrollment in the standalone Childhood Education initial certification program. We encourage you to explore our dual-certification Childhood Education and Childhood Special Education degree.
Prepare for an exciting career at the forefront of childhood education by learning pedagogical skills and strategies centered around understanding how children learn and the multiple contexts in which learning occurs. Through course work, field experiences, and student teaching, you’ll become eligible for New York State initial teaching certification for grades 1–6.
Throughout your course of study, you will learn a principle-based set of teaching practices reflective of the needs, lifestyles, languages, and cultural patterns of the communities we serve.
Your course of study will center on children’s educational experiences, informed by the belief that children are competent persons actively engaged in meaning-making in the multiple contexts of home, school, and community. Throughout your curriculum, you will learn:
You'll complete 100 hours of field experiences prior to student teaching for two semesters in a New York City public school, early childhood center, or public or private childcare center. You will have the opportunity to observe how children learn at different ages in a variety of settings through recursive teaching experiences.
Our philosophy is that the central component of your development as a teacher/researcher is continual reflection on your own and others’ teaching practices. You will develop powerful tools to address the needs of young learners and promote educational equity for all children.
As a student in our graduate program, you'll have several unique opportunities to study teaching and learning abroad:
Upon graduation, you’ll be prepared for a career as a:
Learn more about teacher certification and our accreditation.
