About Childhood and Early Childhood Curriculum and Instruction
New York is among a select number of states that require teachers to earn a master's degree within five years to maintain licensure, and the Childhood and Early Childhood Curriculum and Instruction graduate program at Buffalo State provides the perfect place to earn it.
Childhood and Early Childhood Curriculum and Instruction, M.S.Ed.
Degree Information
When you leave Buffalo State with a master’s degree in childhood and early childhood curriculum and instruction, you’ll be armed with a degree that not only opens the door to great jobs but also to a rich lifelong career. Our graduates have found much-loved careers in public, private, and charter elementary schools across the globe.
Nationally, employment of kindergarten and elementary school teachers is projected to grow at a steady pace between now and 2028, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Teacher shortages in New York City, Texas, and other states in the Southwest mean that successful teacher candidates willing to travel have their choice of positions. Locally, our graduates are teaching throughout Western New York schools; many eventually move into positions of leadership.
If you eventually decide that classroom teaching is not for you, there are plenty of alternative career options for professionals possessing a master’s degree in childhood education:
- Adoption Agency/Foster Care Administrator
- Afterschool Activities Director
- Childcare Center Manager/Director
- Curriculum Developer/Researcher
- Home-based Service Provider (Nanny)
- Home-based Tutor
- Nonprofit Youth Services Worker
- Park/Community Center Youth Activities Coordinator
- Policy Development Specialist with Federal, State, or Local Government Organization
- Youth Athletics Coach
- Youth Leader at a Religious Organization
As a graduate student, you’ll have many opportunities to participate in clubs and activities outside the classroom. Opportunities for childhood and early education undergraduate and graduate students include but are not limited to:
- Elementary Education Club: Enables education students to socialize and organize volunteer and service-learning activities in the Buffalo area.
- Global Book Hour: Student-facilitated program provides weekly book-focused sessions integrating geography, arts, and healthy eating for local children.
- Kappa Delta Pi: The international honor society is a prestigious organization dedicated to scholarship and excellence in education.
- TeachLivE™: This virtual-reality classroom provides teachers the opportunity to develop their pedagogical practice in a safe environment that doesn’t place real students at risk.
- Service Learning: Under the tutelage of Buffalo State faculty and staff, service-learning initiatives are available through many organizations located on Buffalo’s West Side.
Buffalo State has enjoyed a long and distinguished history of preparing highly effective teachers and educational leaders to lead classrooms in early childhood through high school.
For more than 150 years, Buffalo State has dedicated its research, scholarship, and community service toward educating the kind of elementary school teacher who students remember their whole lives, the kind of teacher who really makes an impact on their growth and development.
While times change and educational trends come and go, the essence of Buffalo State’s mission remains the same—a fierce dedication to offering education programs that meet the highest possible national standards of the profession. As a result, the Childhood Education Program has received accreditation from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) since its inception in 1954. In addition, the School of Education is continuously engaged in data-driven decision-making, clinically enriched programming, assessment-based accountability, and relevant curriculum development using national standards.
At the graduate level, the goal of the programs within the Childhood Education, Literacy, and Educational Leadership Department is to provide students with excellent instruction that furthers their knowledge and fosters their development as accomplished, reflective educators.
Students who successfully complete this master of science in education will receive a college recommendation for Professional NYS Childhood and Professional Early Childhood Certification.
There are five concentrations within the Childhood Education Program in which to choose:
- Early Childhood
- Educational Technology
- Educational Leadership
- Gifted/Talented
- Literacy
Stellar Reputation
All of Buffalo State’s education programs have received awards from the National Association of Professional Development Schools for outstanding work in collaborating with school partners to provide exemplary teacher preparation programs.
National Accreditation
The Elementary Education, Literacy, and Educational Leadership Department is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. You will earn a master’s degree from a nationally accredited program.
Small Class Sizes
Classes typically have between 12 and 25 students; the field-based courses have a maximum class size of 15, which means plenty of individualized attention from professors.
Great Location
Our education majors study in the second largest city in the state with opportunities to work closely with schoolchildren in urban, suburban, and rural settings.
“I’d always heard, 'If you want to be a teacher, Buffalo State is the place to go.'"
“What attracted me to Buffalo State was its stellar reputation for preparing teachers for the classroom and its option to earn a master’s degree and teaching certificate at the same time. That was huge for me.”