Teacher Certification Programs in
Early Childhood and Childhood Education

Join our collaborative and supportive community of educators and leaders to earn your master’s degree, gain teaching certification, or advance your career.

At Bank Street, you will learn through inquiry, observation, research, and hands-on opportunities to build knowledge, skills, and experiences. Your Bank Street degree will prepare you to deeply understand child-centered practices and how to partner with children, teachers, families, and communities.

Our graduates are confident and effective change agents who make a difference from the start. Most of all, you’ll be sought after by employers and connected to a network of caring and invested peers and faculty.

Which Teacher Certification Program Is Right for You?

At Bank Street, we’re focused solely on education, which means we offer an extensive array of programs, both online and on campus, for current and aspiring early childhood professionals, including options for general education and specializations for language variations and developmental variations. Many of these programs prepare you to complete the teaching certification process, including taking the exam, attaining a certification recommendation, and other requirements. 

Toddlers actively learning with hands-on clay projectEarly Childhood Education—Birth-Grade 2

Advance your understanding of human development in our youngest students. You’ll gain learning techniques that incorporate play, social interaction, sensory experiences, and engagement with the world. Programs lead to certification to teach in general education and/or inclusion or special education settings. Social work certification options are also available.

  • Early Childhood General Education (On Campus, MSEd)
  • Early Childhood Special Education (On Campus or Online, MSEd, EdM)
  • Early Childhood Special and General Education Dual Certification (On Campus or Online, MSEd, EdM)
  • Advanced Certification: Early Childhood Special Education (On Campus, Non-Degree) 
  • Early Childhood Special Education/Dual Degree with Columbia University School of Social Work (On Campus, MSEd, EdM) 
  • Early Childhood Special and General Education Dual Certification/Dual Degree with Columbia School of Social Work (On Campus, MSEd)

Student teacher meeting on site with fieldwork advisorChildhood Education—Grades 1-6

Expand your understanding of child development and learn how to better engage students with active learning techniques. These programs lead to teaching certification in general education and/or inclusion or special education settings. Social work certification options are also available.

  • Childhood General Education (On Campus, MSEd, EdM)
  • Childhood Special Education (On Campus or Online, MSEd, EdM)
  • Childhood Special and General Education Dual Certification (On Campus or Online, MSEd, EdM)
  • Advanced Certification: Childhood Special Education (On Campus, Non-Degree)
  • Childhood Special Education Dual Certification/Dual Degree with Columbia School of Social Work (On Campus, MSEd)
  • Childhood Special and General Education Dual Certification/Dual Degree with Columbia School of Social Work (On Campus, MSEd)
  • Childhood Special and General Education Dual Certification Residency

Student teachers work with students for hands-on teacher trainingCross-Age: Early Childhood and Childhood—Birth-Grade 6

This program adds flexibility to your career options with preparation for certifications to teach students ages birth to grade 6.

  • Cross-Age: Early Childhood and Childhood General Education Dual Certification (On Campus, MSEd)

Dual language learners in a math classDual Language—Spanish or Mandarin

Bilingual teachers are in great demand. If you’d like to work with emergent bilingual children across a range of settings, these programs lead you to teaching certification for ages birth-grade 2 or grades 1-6 with general education and special education options.

  • Dual Language/Bilingual Early Childhood General Education (On Campus, MSEd)
  • Dual Language/Bilingual Early Childhood Special Education (On Campus, MSEd)
  • Dual Language/Bilingual Early Childhood Special and General Education Dual Certification(On Campus, MSEd) 
  • Dual Language/Bilingual Childhood General Education (On Campus, MSEd)
  • Dual Language/Bilingual Childhood Special Education (On Campus, MSEd, EdM)
  • Dual Language/Bilingual Childhood Special and General Education Dual Certification (On Campus, MSEd)

Infant and family development starts with joyful activitiesSpecialized Offerings

  • In our signature programs in infant and family development and early intervention, you’ll learn how to help babies and toddlers make meaningful connections to the world around them.
  • Reading and literacy programs offer you the chance to advance your career while helping fill the growing national need for specialized teachers.
  • Our Studies in Education program enables you to design your own course of study to match your professional goals for work in advocacy, educational policy, curriculum development, and other areas of the field.

Our Approach

  • We’re for educators who want to spend every day face to face with the future.

    Bank Street holds a unique and highly regarded place in the world of education. We were trailblazers when we were founded in 1916—and our ideas, which were once radical, are widely practiced and accepted today. If you want to shape the future of education, this is where you start.
    Teacher smiling while two kids work

  • We're for democracy and equity.

    Our commitment to democracy and social justice is at the heart of our innovative pedagogy and desire to help all learners, both children and adults, actively make sense of the world. Equity and equality are always in a Bank Street educator’s mind—we meet students “where they are” in their learning with strengths-based activities and socially, emotionally, and culturally appropriate support.
    Teacher and two students smiling

  • We're for sharing good ideas.

    For a small institution, our reach is broad. Our mix of graduate and continuing education coursework, research programs, and professional partnerships with school districts across the country aims to expand and improve educational opportunities for all students.
    Child smiles while painting with teacher

Financial Aid

At Bank Street, we believe education is an investment that will change your life—and the lives of the students you’ll work with. We’ll help you make it possible.

Every year, Bank Street’s Office of Financial Aid administers over $8.5 million in financial aid to students.  More than 50 percent of our students receive financial aid. Your individual financial status from the prior year is a key factor in determining your award. We encourage you to go through the financial aid process to find out what we can offer.

  • Do I qualify for financial aid based on my income?

    Your individual financial status from the prior year is a key factor in determining your award. Incoming students who earn up to $80,000 a year (or significantly more for students with families) are likely to qualify for a need-based scholarship at Bank Street. Our scholarship program makes the cost of attending Bank Street Graduate School of Education competitive with most other private schools in the New York region.

  • When should I apply for financial aid?

    You can apply for financial aid at the same time you complete your admission application. Filling out the FAFSA as early as possible is an important step for financial aid. Federal student aid, including scholarships, can significantly reduce your financial obligation without adding to student debt. 

  • What types of scholarship opportunities are available for me?

    Our financial aid advisors would be happy to tell you more about the process and our many scholarship opportunities for new and continuing students, including external scholarships and program-based, diversity-oriented, public school-focused, and career changer scholarships, among others.

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Why Bank Street?

Early Childhood Experts

Bank Street has deep expertise and a rich portfolio of work in the early childhood field, which builds from over a century of intellectual and practical contributions that have advanced policy and practice.

Prepared for the Long Run

Bank Street is proud that 87% of its graduates remain in the field of education and 87% feel more confident in their specialty than comparison professionals.

A National Reputation

Our graduates are highly regarded by schools, educational organizations, and other places of learning across the country. A degree from Bank Street is a transformative investment in your values and ambitions, helping you stand out as a forward-thinking educator and leader who is confident, well-prepared, and ready to thrive. 

Bank Street alum, Jennifer Bourque, GSE '17
Alumni Voices
I chose Bank Street because I wanted to continue my education in an environment that welcomes the exchange between learners and facilitators, adults and children, theory and practice. Bank Street’s programs emphasize reflection and have presented me with a space where I can share [my experiences] with my colleagues while being challenged to think deeply about the current issues in education and the ways that progressive pedagogy and the developmental-interaction approach can continue to inform my work as an educator.
Jennifer Bourque, GSE ’17

Contact Bank Street

610 West 112th Street
New York, NY 10025

212-652-8722
gseenrollment@bankstreet.edu