M.S. in Childhood Education

This program is designed for candidates seeking initial teaching certification in childhood education, grades 1-6, and includes a full professional semester of student teaching.

Summary

Degree Requirements

Additional Requirements

In addition to the course and field experiences required for completion of the graduate program in childhood education, the following are also requirements:

1. All teacher education candidates at Ithaca College must meet the state requirement for college-level study in a language other than English or demonstrate equivalent proficiency. Candidates admitted to the childhood education program who have not yet met this requirement must do so prior to graduation from the program.
2. Students admitted to the graduate programs in education with outstanding requirements must complete those requirements by the date stipulated in the letter of admission.
3. Childhood education students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0, with grades of B or better in all education courses. A grade of B- does not qualify.
4. EDUC 60000 and EDUC 51210 constitute a full course load during the spring semester, when M.A.T. students complete two student teaching experiences, one in grades 1-3 and the other in grades 4-6. Student teaching is a full-time commitment requiring full days in public schools and additional hours spent in planning, assessment, after-school activities, and a weekly seminar. No additional courses may be taken during this semester nor can teacher candidates participate in any extra-curricular activities that may have the potential to affect time available for teaching and preparation. During the semester of student teaching, M.A.T. students may not play a varsity sport or participate in theatre productions or musical ensembles at the College. Student teaching placements are made within a forty-five mile radius of Ithaca and in our partner schools in New York City's Harlem community; housing and transportation are the responsibility of the teacher candidate.
5. All candidates for initial certification in New York must successfully complete certification exams and performance assessments required by the state for the applicant's intended teaching certificate. Childhood education students who intend to apply for certification in other states are encouraged to access the websites in those states to determine any additional exams and/or requirements for certification.
6. In lieu of a thesis requirement and/or a comprehensive exam, the childhood education program includes the graduation requirement that all students complete both an electronic professional development portfolio and a teacher inquiry project. The professional portfolio provides evidence that the childhood education candidate has met College, state, and national standards for effective teaching, and its preparation begins during the fall semester of the childhood education program. The teacher inquiry project is also a yearlong project: the research proposal is developed in the fall, data is collected and analyzed in the spring, and the research paper is written and presented in the final summer semester of the program.
7. The All-College Teacher Education Unit at Ithaca College requires all teacher education students, regardless of program area, to be reviewed at four programmatic transition points during their course of study. Continuation in a teacher education program is contingent upon the student successfully meeting the requirements of each transition point review; therefore, admission into one of the Ithaca College teacher education programs does not guarantee that a student will be allowed to participate in the semester-long student teaching experience or to be a program completer eligible for teaching certification. Students must successfully complete four unit-wide reviews, which occur at the following transition points:
   1. Admission to the Professional Education Graduate Program,
   2. Admission to Student Teaching,
   3. Completion of Student Teaching, and
   4. Completion of Program.
      As part of this unit-wide assessment system, program-specific reviewers assess student progress in meeting the Ithaca College Teacher Education Standards, the New York State Teaching Standards, the IC Teacher Education Professional Qualities and Dispositions, and the standards of the relevant Specialized Professional Association.
8. The graduate chair must approve any exceptions to the above requirements.