Early Childhood (MED)
The Masters of Education in Early Childhood is aimed at accomplishing the following goals:
- Students completing the program will develop expertise in the domain areas related to Early Childhood.
- Students completing the program will conduct, analyze, and apply scholarly results in their practice.
- Demonstrate an understanding of language development, early literacy, second language acquisition, developmentally appropriate practices, the stages of literacy development and child development, early childhood programs and curriculum.
- Students who complete the program will serve as early childhood specialist/advocates at their in their community.
- Students completing this program will present professional conferences.
- Students will develop a research agenda on a topic relevant to early childhood. This research may result in a manuscript submitted for publication.
Admission Requirements
To be admitted to the graduate program in early childhood, prospective candidates must first meet all requirements for graduate admission to UT Rio Grande Valley, as well as the other requirements listed below:
- Undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 in the last 60 semester credit hours. If applicant does not meet the minimum undergraduate GPA criterion, GRE general test with minimum scores of 150 Verbal, 141 Quantitative, and 4.0 Analytical are required for conditional admission
- Letter of intent
- Resume
Application for admission must be submitted prior to the published deadline. The application is available at www.utrgv.edu/gradapply.
Program Requirements
Required Courses (21 Credits)
| ECED 6301 | Major Theories in Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| ECED 6302 | Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Planning, and Curriculum | 3 |
| ECED 6303 | Young Multilingual Learners | 3 |
| ECED 6304 | Dynamics of Play and Learning in Early Childhood | 3 |
| ECED 6305 | Early Care and Education of Infant & Toddlers | 3 |
| ECED 6306 | Literacy in Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| ECED 6307 | Internship I: Special Topics in Early Childhood | 3 |
Professional Development: (6 Credits)
Choose one of the following options:
Other Early Childhood Professionals (9 Credits):
| ECED 6308 | Children's Literature | 3 |
| ECED 6309 | Internship II: Ethics and Leadership in Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| EDCI 7334 | Curriculum Problems and Processes | 3 |
Capstone Requirement
Midpoint Oral Assessment Exam
Written Comprehensive Exam
Classroom Teacher (9 Credits):
| ECED 6308 | Children's Literature | 3 |
| ECED 6309 | Internship II: Ethics and Leadership in Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| ECED 6310 | Developmentally Appropriate Assessment | 3 |
Capstone Requirement
Midpoint Oral Assessment Exam
Written Comprehensive Exam
Thesis/Research (9 Credits):
Capstone Requirement
Successful completion and defense of thesis
Midpoint Oral Assessment Exam
Written Comprehensive Exam
Total Credit Hours: 36