Early Childhood Education
Gain the knowledge and skills to make a powerful difference in the lives of young children and their families with our master’s degree or graduate certificate in early childhood education.
Why Earn Your Master’s Degree or Advanced Certificate in Early Childhood Education?
The early years of birth to age 8 are crucial in terms of a child’s intellectual, social, and emotional development. As an early childhood educator, you’ll take a key role in helping your students develop and setting them up for success in the classroom and throughout their lives. Our early childhood education master’s degree or advanced certificate will set you up with the skills to teach children with confidence.
Why Earn Your MS or Advanced Certificate in Early Childhood Education at Adelphi, Right Here in New York or Online?
- You’ll learn to teach by teaching through our strong partnerships with local school districts in Nassau County, Suffolk County, and New York City. Or you can student teach right on our Garden City campus, in our Alice Brown Early Learning Center.
- You’ll learn to help children adapt to changing circumstances and our changing world, and appreciate and respect people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Adelphi University is a three-time winner of the INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award in recognition of its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
- Earn your master’s degree in early childhood education at a pace that works for you, with options for full- and part-time enrollment and convenient evening classes.
- Our MS and advanced certificate in Early Childhood Education are available both on-campus and online.
How Can a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education Help Your Career?
Our early childhood education master’s will prepare you with the skills to teach younger children to age 8 with confidence. You’ll learn to teach by teaching through our strong partnerships with local school districts in Nassau County, Suffolk County and New York City.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in early childhood education are projected to grow at a strong 18 percent by 2030.
You will be ready for a career as a preschool director, instructional coordinator, child life specialist or an early childhood education advocate. Still other career sectors include children’s publishing, children’s museums and community-based educational programming.
Early Childhood Education Advanced Certification Opportunities
Successful graduates of this program are certified to teach birth to second grade. After completing the early childhood graduate program, you may choose to pursue additional advanced certifications in:
- TESOL
- Literacy Education (Birth-Grade 6)
- Special Education (Advanced Certificate in Autism and Severe or Multiple Disabilities)
Qualified candidates certified in areas other than early childhood education may enroll in this program to earn a second teaching certificate and fulfill the graduate degree requirement for professional (permanent) certification in both areas.
Adelphi students in the gain classroom experience at the Alice Brown Early Learning Center.
Exceptional Hands-On Learning
Student teaching is a central component of Adelphi’s master’s in early childhood education. Because of our partnerships with Pre-K–12 schools in Nassau County, Suffolk County, and New York City, in addition to our close ties with Teach America, we offer fieldwork in many different school districts and learning institutions, such as our Alice Brown Early Learning Center.
Let the staff and professors at Adelphi help prepare and guide you to the place you’ve always wanted to be. Be open to new possibilities and you will find yourself setting goals far greater than you initially set out to achieve. Join us. The world needs more of Adelphi’s teachers.
Program Info
Application Requirements
Applicants for this program must have a completed Bachelor’s degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA and should submit the following application requirements:
- Online application form and $60 fee
- Online survey completed by two recommenders
- Personal essay (500 words)
- Official college transcripts
Frequently Asked Questions About our Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education
Early childhood education encompasses the early years to age 8, which are crucial in terms of a child’s intellectual, social and emotional development. The focus is on learning language and interacting with other children through conversation, reading and play.
Because the early childhood years to age 8 are so crucial in terms of a child’s intellectual, social and emotional development, early childhood educators play a key role in helping your students develop and setting them up for success.
An early childhood education master’s degree will prepare you for a career as a preschool director, instructional coordinator, child life specialist or an early childhood education advocate. Still other career sectors include children’s publishing, children’s museums and community-based educational programming.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in early childhood education are projected to grow at a strong 18 percent by 2030.
Awards & Recognition
-
Resources for Current StudentsToolsAcademic ResourcesAccessibility & Support ProgramsBilling & Financial AidCampus Life
- Athletics (Adelphi Panthers)
- Bookstore
- Bhisé Center for Global Understanding
- Clubs & Activities (MyAULife)
- Commuter Student Services
- The Delphian (Student Newspaper)
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
- Dining Services & Meal Plans
- Interfaith Worship
- Locker Rentals
- Lost & Found
- Multicultural Center
- Residential Life & Housing
- Student & Community Engagement
Career ServicesCourses & RegistrationDisclosures & InfoGraduationHealth & WellbeingLibrary ResourcesSafety & TransportationStudent Conduct & Concerns -
Resources for FacultyToolsAcademicsResources and PoliciesSupport and Community
-
Resources for StaffToolsResources and PoliciesSupport and Community
-
Resources for Parents & FamiliesAcademicsFinancial ServicesHealth & SafetyResources
-
Resources for Alumni & FriendsExtraordinary ImpactNews and Events
-
Resources for Local CommunityFor Kids & Future College StudentsFor Art & Culture LoversFor FitnessFor Lifelong LearnersFor Those Who Need SupportFor Those Giving Back to the CommunityFor Vendors