Childhood Education, Grades 1-6 - MSEd

Program Coordinator Jason Riffaterre; 1001 West; (212) 772-4638; jriffate@hunter.cuny.edu

Hunter College’ s program in childhood education has been nationally recognized by the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI). This program, which focuses on preparing teachers for New York City public schools is designed for students who do not have New York State certification in childhood education. Applicants who have initial certification in childhood education should apply to one of the other graduate teacher education programs at Hunter College such as Literacy; Childhood Special Education, Grades 1-6; TESOL (pre-K - 12); Early Childhood Education, Birth through Grade 2; or the Childhood Education Math/Science Specialist program. A master’ s degree from any of these programs will meet the academic requirements for a professional certificate in that area as well as in childhood education.

The number of credits required to complete this master’s degree program is determined by the student’ s educational background. Students who have not previously completed any pedagogical courses equivalent to those in the program must complete 45-47 credits. Students may be exempted from up to 12 credits based on prior equivalent course work.

Admission Requirements

An undergraduate degree with a grade point average of at least 3.0.
A liberal arts or sciences major (or interdisciplinary concentration) of at least 30 credits.
A liberal arts core to include the following: 6 credits in English, including one course in English composition in with a grade of B or better (or a writing intensive course in any discipline with a grade of B or better); 6 credits in social studies (one course in must be in history or geography); 6 credits in a language other than English (3 years of high school study in the same foreign language with grades of C or better documented by high school transcript will meet this requirement), 3 credits in the arts; 9 credits in math and science with at least one course in math and one course in science (a college course in calculus meets 6 credits of this requirement); and 3 credits in information retrieval (library studies, research, computer literacy or educational technology).
A personal statement to be completed as part of the application for admission.

Progress Standards

A. 12-Credit Progress Standards for Matriculated Students

Students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 in order to continue in the program.
Students with more than one course grade below B in the first 12 credits will not be allowed to continue in the program.
Students who receive a grade of F in any course in the first 12 credits will not be allowed to continue in the program.
Students with one grade of IN (Incomplete) within the first 12 credits are restricted from registering for more than one additional course. Those with two or more INs will not be allowed to register for any courses.

Note: It is recommended that students with two or more INs take an official leave of absence.
All students should take the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST) of the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations and submit their scores to the Office of Educational Services before they complete 12 credits of course work. Any student who does not receive a passing score on the LAST must enroll in the school’s reading/writing workshop before being permitted to register for any additional courses.

B. Fieldwork Benchmark

All field experiences and student teaching will take place in New York City public schools.

Students must receive a grade of at least B in fieldwork CEDC 715. Any student who receives a grade of B-, C+ or C must apply to the Chairperson of the Department for permission to repeat that course, which may be repeated only once. Any student who receives a grade of F or WU will not be allowed to continue in the program.

Childhood Education Course of Study

Total Credits: 36 - 49 credits

This program includes four types of courses: Initial Core; Literacy Core; Extended Core; and Culminating Core. Teacher candidates should complete the courses in the Initial Core before starting the Literacy Core. Matriculated students may take courses from the Extended Core at any time as long as they meet the individual course prerequisite requirements. The Culminating Core is completed during the last semester or last two semesters of the program.

Initial Core:

Literacy Core:

Extended Core:

Culminating Core

CEDF 79200 - Integrative Seminar: Research in Childhood Education

Choose either:

CEDC 72400 - Student Teaching in Grades 1–3 and 4–6

Or one of the following:

Plus either

CEDC 72600 - Student Teaching in Grades 4–6

Or

CEDC 72800 - Practicum in Grades 4–6

Exit Standards

An overall GPA of at least 3.0.
A grade of B or better in student teaching and/or practicum. Any student who obtains a grade of F in student teaching and/or practicum will not be allowed to continue in the program. Any student who obtains a grade of B-, C+ or C must apply to the department chairperson for permission to reregister for student teaching and/or practicum, which may be repeated only once. Students must complete all required days for student teaching. Those who do not complete the minimum required days will receive a grade of Incomplete in that course, preventing them from graduating that semester.
Completion of Integrative Seminar (CEDF 792) with a grade of B or better.
Students must pass the School of Education technology assessment.