StudyQA — Master: Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education — University of Illinois at Chicago (Page 8)

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Description Contents Requirements Funding

The Early Childhood Education / Early Childhood Special Education program blends regular early childhood education with early childhood special education, and prepares students to teach young children in urban settings. The program offers two strands:

Strand A leads to the MEd with a State of Illinois Professional Education License with endorsement in early childhood education and early childhood special education.
Strand B leads to the MEd only, and prepares students for a variety of leadership and teaching positions that do not require a State of Illinois Professional Education License.

Strand A - MEd, State of Illinois Professional License, and endorsement in Early Childhood Special Education

Students must complete a minimum 33 to 34 credit hours with at least 9 hours at the 500 level. Courses numbered 596, 597, 598 or 599 do not meet this requirement. An additional 11 to 15 hours beyond the basic degree requirements are mandatory for certification.

Core Curriculum

ED 422 Advanced Developmental Psychology and Educational Processes - 3 credits or EPSY 526 or Development in Infancy and Early Childhood - 4 credits
SPED 506 Characteristics, Theory, and Assessment of Infants and Young Children with Disabilities - 4 credits
EPSY 449 Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education: Perspectives, Policy, and History - 3 credits
EPSY/SPED 466 Language Development, Diversity and Disabilities - 3 credits
EPSY 429 Constructivist Approaches to Development: Piaget & Vygotsky - 4 credits
EPSY 520 Curriculum and Practice in Early Childhood Education - 5 hours
SPED 508 Methods of Instruction and Assessment for Infants and Children with Disabilities - 4 hours
EPSY/SPED 582 Forging Collaboration with Family and Staff - 3 hours
CI 509 Reading and Writing with Young Children - 4 hours

Additional Requirements for Licensure

EPSY 519 (Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment in Primary Grades - 5 hours)
EPSY 521 (Early Childhood Education Student Teaching - 10 hours) or EPSY 522 (Internship in Early Childhood Education - 6 hours)
Completion of the Illinois Early Childhood Exam
Completion of the Illinois Assessment of Professional Teaching Exam
Completion of the general education requirements with a minimum grade of a “C” in each course.

NOTE: The Illinois State Certification Board may not issue a teaching certificate to an individual who has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor. If the student has been convicted, he or she should bring this to the attention of the adviser.

Strand B - MEd only

Students must complete a minimum of 32 credit hours with at least 9 hours at the 500 level. Courses numbered 596, 597, 598 or 599 do not meet this requirement.

Core Curriculum (9 to 11 semester hours)

Philosophy of Education (ED 402 - 3 hours), or History of Education (ED 403 - 3 hours), or Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education: Perspectives, Policy, and History (EPSY 449 - 3 hours)
Developmental Psychology (ED 422 - 3 hours) or Development in Infancy and Early Childhood (EPSY 529 - 4 hours)
Curriculum and Instruction (ED 430 -3 hours) or Improving Learning Environments (ED 431- 3 hours)

Area of Concentration (15 to 16 semester hours)

Constructivist Approaches to Development: Piaget & Vygotsky (EPSY 429 - 4 hours)
Forging Collaboration with Family and Staff (EPSY 582/SPED 582 - 3 hours)
Reading and Writing with Young Children (CI 509 - 4 hours)
Students must choose one course from the following four options:
1. Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment in Primary Grades (EPSY 519 - 5 hours)
2. Curriculum and Practice in Early Childhood Education (EPSY 520 - 5 hours)
3. Methods of Instruction and Assessment for Infants and Children with Disabilities (SPED 508 - 4 hours)
4. Independent Study (EPSY 596 - 4 hours)

Electives (5 to 8 semester hours)

Selection of College of Education courses and special topics.

Requirements

Complete the UIC Graduate School application. (International applicants should use this application). Submit your application fee when completing the application.
Complete the online College of Education application.
The following documents should be uploaded online upon receiving email instructions after completing the UIC Graduate School application. View the Document Upload Guide for more information.
- Upload undergraduate transcripts for your last 60 hours of the undergraduate degree and all graduate transcripts.
- TOEFL or IELTS test scores for international applicants only
- Three letters of recommendation. These letters should address the applicant's academic qualifications, research ability/experience and ability to carry on advanced degree studies. Letters may be from current or former professors or supervisors. At least one letter should be from someone who can address your experience working with children.
- Complete a questionnaire and written statement (pdf) regarding experience with young children.
STRAND A ONLY: Submit test scores from the Basic Skills test or Test of Academic Proficiency. For information on the test, visit this site: www.il.nesinc.com. An ACT or SAT score may be submitted with a waiver; for information on this process, visit the Council on Teacher Education.
STRAND A ONLY: Complete an interview with a faculty member in your program of interest. The department will contact you to schedule this.