Early Childhood Special Education (Teacher Certification), MEd
Early Childhood, Infants, Preschool, Special Education, Teacher, Toddler
Begin your career in early childhood special education. This transformative program equips you to support children with disabilities, refine family engagement skills and craft inclusive learning environments.
If you hold a bachelor's degree in a non-education field, the Master of Education program in early childhood special education with a concentration in teacher certification is designed for you. The program prepares you to work with young children with disabilities and those at risk for developmental or learning challenges. You earn an institutional recommendation from ASU for Arizona teacher certification.
You develop foundational knowledge of child development, including child development theories and best practices, including how to:
- assess, monitor and report the progress of young children
- build effective practices for engaging families
- create enriched, inclusive learning environments
- design coherent instruction
- plan and facilitate learning
As a graduate, you are eligible to earn an institutional recommendation from ASU for Arizona teacher certification in Early Childhood Special Education, birth through grade 3, from the Arizona Department of Education. To teach in an Arizona public school, you must pass the appropriate Arizona educator exams: National Evaluation Series or Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments.
- College/school:
Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation
- Location: Online
- STEM-OPT extension eligible: No
This program allows students to obtain both a bachelor's and a master's degree in as little as five years. Accelerated bachelor's plus master's degree programs are designed for high-achieving students who want the opportunity to share undergraduate coursework with graduate coursework to accelerate completion of their master's degree. These programs feature the same high quality curriculum taught by ASU's world-renowned faculty.
This program is offered as an accelerated bachelor's plus master's degree with:
Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master's during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.
38 credit hours including the required applied project course (ECS 593) - Alternative Certification Pathway, or
38 credit hours including the required applied project course (ECS 593) - Traditional Certification Pathway
Required Core (9 credit hours) Concentration (6 credit hours) Traditional Certification Pathway Other Requirements (17 credit hours) SEI Endorsement (3 credit hours) Culminating Experience (3 credit hours) Additional Curriculum Information Students on the traditional path must take at least one internship course (ECS 556 or ECS 567) before student teaching (ECS 596). For their third professional experience course, students must complete a professional experience in a new setting. For example, if they selected ECS 556 and then took ECS 596, they must take ECS 567 or ECS 574 for their third course. This way they have at least two experiences in different settings. Students on the alternative path for certification must complete at least two apprentice teaching courses. Like the traditional path, students must have at least two experiences in different settings. For example, students can take ECS 574 and ECS 596 and then take ECS 556 or ECS 571 for their third experience because it is in a new professional experience setting.
EED 532 Literacy Methods of Instruction and Assessment for Diverse Learners (3)
TEL 517 Creating Equitable Learning Environment: Decision Making and Action (3)
TEL 531 Foundations of Literacy: The Science of Reading (3)
Alternative Certification Pathway
ECS 571 Birth to Preschool Apprentice Teaching (2)
ECS 574 Pre-Kindergarten to Grade Three Apprentice Teaching (2)
ECS 579 Early Childhood Special Education Apprentice Teaching Capstone (2)
ECS 556 Birth to Preschool Internship (2)
ECS 567 Pre-Kindergarten to Grade Three Internship (2)
ECS 596 Early Childhood Special Education Student Teaching (2)
ECD 527 Mathematics in Early Childhood Education (3)
ECD 565 Inclusive Instructional Methodologies for Young Children (3)
ECS 520 Evaluation and Intervention Strategies for Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers with Disabilities (3)
ECS 549 Foundations of Typical and Atypical Child Growth and Development (3)
SPE 502 Language and Communications Methods and Assessment (2)
SPE 558 Special Education Foundations: Law, IEPs, Assessment and Ethical Practice (3)
ELL 515 Structured English Immersion (SEI) Methods (3)
ECS 593 Applied Project (3)
All certification students must complete at least three professional experience courses and an experience in each special education setting (birth through preschool, and preschool through grade 3). Students can select the traditional or alternative pathway for certification. This determines what professional experience courses they take for the concentration.
General university admission requirements:
All students are required to meet general
university admission requirements.
U.S.
applicants | International
applicants | English
proficiency
Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and the Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation.
Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in any field from a regionally accredited institution.
Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.
Applicants are required to submit:
- graduate admission application and application fee
- official transcripts
- personal statement
- professional resume
- three letters of recommendation
- proof of English proficiency
Additional Application Information
An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.
The personal statement should describe the personal and professional goals that motivated the applicant to apply to the program, and explain what led the applicant to this career path and how they will excel as an educator. The admission committee pays particular attention to the quality of writing and ideas expressed in the personal statement.
The professional resume should be one to two pages and include relevant personal, professional, educational and community activities.
The personal statement and professional resume should be prepared in one of the following file formats: MS Word (.doc), rich text (.rtf), Portable Document Format (.pdf) or text (.txt).
The letters of recommendation should be from individuals who can speak to the applicant's potential for success in a graduate program.
ASU offers this program in an online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. Applicants may view the program’s ASU Online page for program descriptions and to request more information.
Graduates are prepared to work in schools, nonprofit organizations, early intervention programs, government agencies, health care organizations and private practices. Career opportunities include:
- kindergarten through grade 3 teacher
- preschool teacher
- program coordinator
ASU programs that may lead to professional licensure or certification are intended to prepare students for potential licensure or certification in Arizona. Completion of an ASU program may not meet educational requirements for licensure or certification in another state. For more information, students should visit the ASU professional licensure webpage.
Division for Advancing Educator Preparation
|
ED 118
graduateeducation@asu.edu
480-965-5555
Admission deadlines
Program term definitions
Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.
Accelerated master's
These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).
Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master's during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.
Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.
Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.
ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the "New Programs" option.
ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.
The Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) provides a reduced tuition rate to non-resident graduate students who qualify. Visit the WRGP/WICHE webpage for more information: https://graduate.asu.edu/wiche.
