Early Childhood Education
Human Development and Family Studies
Early Childhood Education Emphasis
The Early Childhood Teacher Licensure Program is a collaborative effort between the Departments of Family & Consumer Studies and Teaching & Learning. Successful completion of the program leads to recommendation for K-3 certification.
Students pursuing Early Childhood declare their major in Human Development & Family Studies and complete specific courses in Human Development & Family Studies (40 credits) and supporting professional courses (25 credits). Once these courses are complete, students who have been admitted will enroll in the one year licensure program.
Enrollment in the early childhood teacher licensure program is limited and admission is competitive. The admissions committee is composed of faculty from the departments of Teaching and Learning and Family and Consumer Studies and representatives of local school districts. Admission is based on letters of recommendation, a written personal statement, The Praxis I test (a standardized mathematics and English test), and cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.0. These assessments are considered holistically; no minimum cutoff level exists for any one criterion. The committee also considers the difficulty of prior course work, trends in performance, work place and interpersonal skills, and ability to work with children in a school setting. Additional factors to be considered may be gender and/or minority status consistent with applicable laws and the student code. Committee members use their professional judgment to assess a candidate's potential to succeed in the program as well as in the classroom.
Those students who complete the bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Studies and are not admitted to the licensure program will still be able to work in pre-K non-public school settings based on their undergraduate qualifications.