Welcome to Bank Street.

Here, we believe the future of education takes place in the space between a teacher and a student. 

We know, just as you do, that thoughtful teachers and leaders are needed now more than ever. With a master’s degree or advanced certificate from our Graduate School of Education, you’ll stand out as a forward-thinking educator and leader—confident, well-prepared, and ready to thrive across the diverse settings where children and adults live and learn.

For more than a century, we have been focused on understanding how students learn best. At Bank Street, you’ll learn how to create strengths-based environments that nurture every child’s intellectual, social, and emotional growth.

We hope you’ll explore Bank Street’s programs for teachers and educational leaders and consider taking a transformative step—both for your career and for your students and their families.

Over 50 Graduate Programs in Teaching and Educational Leadership

Our certification and non-certification programs prepare you for a wide array of career opportunities—as teachers, principals, district leaders, museum educators, reading and literacy specialists, curriculum specialists, clinical researchers, and more.

Programs for Teachers

  • In our signature programs in early childhood and childhood education, you’ll learn how to help young children build a healthy, robust foundation for social, emotional, and cognitive growth that will serve them for the rest of their lives.
  • Reading/literacy, mathematics, dual language/bilingual education, TESOL, and infant and family development and early intervention programs advance your career while helping fill the growing national need for specialized teachers.
  • Dual degree options in general and special education, some in collaboration with Columbia and Hunter College, widen your career options with roles like social worker, psychotherapist, and early interventionist.
  • Our teacher residency programs in childhood special and general education and TESOL provide full-time, mentored experience in public schools and include generous scholarships and stipends.

Programs for Educational Leaders

  • Our signature program in progressive leadership prepares you with a master’s degree for a range of pre-K–12 leadership roles, including principal.
  • With specialized programs for aspiring leaders in mathematics education and museum education, you’ll expand your capacity to lead change through one of the few programs in the nation in these niche fields.
  • Advance your credentials with our early childhood leadership (SBL/CPAC) and school district leader (SDL) certificate programs while joining our community of educational leaders.
Child life student and child

Specialized Offerings

  • With our child life specialist programs, you’ll gain certification and join our professional community of healthcare advocates who support children and their families during times of illness or trauma.
  • Our signature program for educators in museums and cultural organizations, one of just a few nationally, prepares you to become a sought-after educational professional advancing multicultural education programs that engage communities with science, history, and culture.
  • Many short-format Continuing Professional Studies workshops enable you to keep your skills current as you earn mandated Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) hours, Continuing Education Units (CEU), or graduate-level credits.

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 and more than 50 percent of our students receive financial aid. 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.

Our Students

  • 680+
    Graduate students
  • 76%
    Aspiring teachers, specialty educators, and child life specialists
  • 24%
    Aspiring school leaders
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Why Bank Street?

Our Approach

Bank Street’s developmental-interaction approach to teaching and learning recognizes that both children and adults learn best when they are actively engaged with materials, ideas, and people. Using academic, social, and emotional learning, you’ll instill in your students a love for lifelong learning, empowering them to build a future that fulfills their boldest plans and ideas.

Our Community

On campus and online, Bank Street students collaborate with faculty and their peers. They learn from our faculty of highly regarded experts and thought leaders who ensure that each student gains the tools to positively impact students and start the process of transforming schools and communities. As they work together, graduate students build strong relationships with each other and become a professional network that stays with them throughout their career.

Supervised Fieldwork

While the pandemic has changed this aspect of our programs, we’ll work with you individually to offer select supervised fieldwork opportunities. You’ll gain the experience you need—working with infants and toddlers at a family and day care center, interning as a family support advocate in a hospital child life program, or student-teaching in one of the largest public school systems in the nation. When you graduate, you’ll be highly prepared to work in many settings, including schools, museums, hospitals, community organizations, and more.

Contact Bank Street

610 West 112th Street
New York, NY 10025

212-652-8722
gseenrollment@bankstreet.edu