Early Childhood Education

Graduate degrees in Curriculum and Instruction: Early Childhood Education prepare future educators for leadership roles in education. Our graduates go on serve as master classroom teachers and staff specialists in public or private school systems. Additionally, an early childhood education degree enables you to work at colleges or universities and in governmental or professional organizations.
In our early childhood education program, you will work closely with faculty members and receive a comprehensive education. Our teacher education program is a model service-learning program for the entire state of Florida. We regularly receive recognition for the quality and preparation of our graduates. We believe our small class sizes, strong faculty mentorship and resources enable our graduates to find success. Our students often remark that our program has a “small school” feel while providing the benefits of a major university.
We offer an online master’s degree as well as on-campus doctoral degrees.
In order to meet minimum University admission requirements, applicants must have:
For this program, applicants must upload the following REQUIRED supporting documents to the Admissions Application Portal:
Master’s and specialist programs:
Doctoral program:
If you are interested in applying, please contact STE-GradCoord@fsu.edu.
The C & I degree requires a minimum of 32 credit hours. All students completing the C&I degree must complete either a classroom-based action research project OR pass the comprehensive exam.
Core Program Categories (taken by all masters candidates)- 12-15 semester credit hours
Major (18-21 Semester Credit Hours)
Specialization courses in Early Childhood Education
The Specialist in Early Childhood Education Program of Study is individually planned in conjunction with the major professor and the student’s supervisory committee with course work emphasis in the areas listed below. A minor is suggested.
The Doctor of Philosophy in Early Childhood Education is individually planned in conjunction with the major professor and the student’s supervisory committee with course work emphasis in the areas listed below. A minor is suggested.
Curriculum choices in our master’s and specialist programs are designed to enable students to become teacher leaders, college instructors, as well as curriculum specialists, state testing specialists and textbook company representatives. Doctoral program graduates are prepared to become university professors, researchers and leaders in the field.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job outlook for early childhood teachers is expected to grow 10.5% through 2026, which equates to approximately 50,100 new jobs. The job outlook for instructional leaders/coordinators is expected to grow up to 10.5% through 2026. That translates into over 17,000 new jobs nationwide. The median national annual salary range for instructional leaders/coordinators is $64,450 per year. For university or college professors, the Bureau predicts a 10.3% increase in jobs by 2026, totaling 2,400 new jobs. The median national salary is $64,780 per year.
A career in education can be very rewarding, and a typical path offers ample opportunities for professional development and growth. Educators make a difference in the lifelong learning experience of their students, as well as, the quality and standards of the programs they teach.