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Academic Programs

Early Childhood General Education Advanced Standing

MSEd

  • Program Overview

    If you are currently a lead teacher working with children from birth through second grade in a publicly funded program, the Early Childhood Advanced Standing Program is for you!

    With this 16-month program, you will earn your master’s degree while maintaining your current teaching position and receiving credit for the teaching experience you already have. You will join a supportive cohort of like-minded peers and faculty to explore advanced topics in human development and early learning and learn how to incorporate innovative teaching techniques that prioritize play, social interaction, and sensory experiences, as well as engagement in the world of literacy, literature, mathematics, science, arts, and social studies. Making use of your own classroom, you will closely observe children while actively engaging them with what you are learning in your courses.

    Benefits of this program include:

    • An over 50% scholarship for accepted students
    • Course requirements are reduced from 45 credits to 30 credits
    • Up to 6 credits granted for life experience, reducing your total cost and time investment

    This program begins in Spring 2026 and culminates in a Master of Science in Education.

     

    Teacher and children exploring sensory table

  • Admissions Requirements

    In addition to the main admissions criteria, there are additional requirements needed to apply for this program:

    • You must be a lead teacher working with children from birth through second grade in a publicly funded program.
    • You must have a minimum of three years of teaching experience.

  • Coursework

    Through coursework, students will work to develop and show mastery in the following competencies:

    • Planning and Instruction
    • Learning Environments
    • Subject Preparation
    • Assessment
    • Professional Learning and Ethics
    • Leadership and Collaboration

    View the coursework for this program

    View sample program sequence

  • Supervised Fieldwork/Advisement

    Supervised fieldwork/advisement lies at the heart of a Bank Street education. Through sustained experiences in the field, supervision from core faculty, and close collaboration with peers, our graduate students develop the ability to connect theory to practice and to reflect deeply on their own growth as educators.

    You will:

    • be supervised by a Bank Street faculty member who is an experienced teacher and advisor
    • be supervised at the school where you will be or already are a full-time teacher
    • keep the same job at your school for the entire fieldwork year
    • participate in a 6-9 member conference group, be observed working with children, and have monthly individual meetings with your advisor
    • be guided through your coursework by your advisor

    New York State requires all graduate students in this program to have field experiences in a birth-pre-K and Kindergarten setting, and in Grades 1-2, as well as in an under-resourced public or charter school program. Working teachers must enroll in an additional fieldwork placement to satisfy these certification requirements. Bank Street will support you in finding a placement that fulfills this requirement.

  • Faculty

  • Certification

    Upon graduation, you will be recommended for New York State certification in Early Childhood General Education, birth through grade 2, provided you complete all other State certification requirements.

    Click here for more information about certification.

Meet our alumni
Small moments of observing make me a better teacher and a better human—to just pause and observe things sometimes and not be so quick to talk or pass judgment. I now use observation lessons regularly with my students. It helps me to ‘meet them where they are,’ which is an important part of Bank Street’s methods.
Keyona Morrison - Early Childhood General Education Advanced Standing Program '23
Meet Keyona Meet Our Alumni

Alumni Spotlight: Ferdousi Uddin

Ferdousi Uddin, GSE ’20, earned her MSEd through the Early Childhood General Education Advanced Standing Program, which included a scholarship that covered the majority of the cost. She is currently a lead teacher at a non-profit Head Start program called the Child Center of New York.

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