Early childhood special education (ECSE) program
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Admission
Follow the admission link at right for detailed instructions on applying for the program. Deadline for application is March 1st.
Program Description
The professional development program in special education specializing in early childhood special education (ECSE) leads to teaching licensure for work with children from birth through age five as well as a M.Ed. This program is designed to prepare teachers to work in a variety of educational settings, including home and school, with children who have a variety of developmental delays and disabilities.
The ECSE program philosophy focuses on cultural and social diversity and meeting the needs of individual children who have disabilities. Further, the ECSE program emphasizes the delivery of evidence-based practices within the natural routines of families and preschools when addressing the individualized needs of children. Graduates are prepared to assess, analyze, monitor, and problem solve the developmental and educational needs of young children and their families. With that, graduates of the ECSE program a prepared to be leaders in the field for the identification early intervention needs, provision of research-based services, and facilitation of successful transitions to kindergarten.
Careers in early childhood special education
Graduates of our program may serve as preschool classroom teachers, in-home service providers, consultants to general classroom teachers, and evaluation team members in early childhood. Professional teachers may serve children who range in age from infancy through age five, who have a wide variety of needs (e.g. developmental delays, physical or health impairments, autism), and who come from a variety of cultural, linguistic and socio-economic backgrounds.