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Prioritizing Early Childhood Education as a Public Good
Our program responds to research confirming that high quality, culturally-sustaining early childhood education is a necessary public good that must be available for all families.
Putting Young Children at the Center
We recognize that education begins before children start school. Students engage in field experiences to learn with, and from, young children from birth to grade 2.
Preparing Educators to be Advocates
Educators are skilled professionals with knowledge to teach and advocate for children and families. We support early childhood teachers to hold their rightful positions as public intellectuals.
Welcome to the Program in Early Childhood Education
Guided by Teachers College's longstanding commitment to inquiry and social justice, we prepare educators to teach and support young children across diverse contexts of preschools, elementary schools, homes, and community centers. Situated in the urban context of New York City, we are committed to equity and inclusion at the intersections of race, gender, class, disability, citizenship, and language. Our program prepares future teachers, policymakers, and educational leaders to actively lead in matters of justice related to curriculum-making, pedagogy, and institutional change. Offering early childhood certification from Birth-Grade 2, we center children's innate capacities to interact with materials, each other, the world, and adults in creative and imaginative ways. Foundational to this idea is understanding childhood from the youngest to the oldest as integral to teaching, learning, and development. Join our network of educational leaders, curriculum designers, teachers, and creatives nationally and internationally.
Haeny Yoon, Program Director of Early Childhood Education, introduces the Early Childhood Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Choose Your Degree
We offer M.A. degrees in Early Childhood Education leading to birth- 2nd grade certification, as well as Ed.D. degrees in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Policy.
Featured Content
Find out more about the program, listen to a preview of a faculty-produced content, and listen to former students talk about their experience!
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Admissions Information
Application Requirements
- Master of Arts
- Early Childhood Education NY State Initial: Birth-2, Bilingual Extension
- Early Childhood Education NY State Initial: Birth-2
- Early Childhood Education
- Early Childhood Education: Special Education NY State Initial: Birth-2, NY State Initial: Students with Disabilities Birth-2
- Early Childhood Education: Special Education NY State Initial: Birth-2, NY State Initial: Students with Disabilities Birth-2, Bilingual Extension
- Doctor of Education