Early Childhood Education M.Ed.

The graduate program offered in Early Childhood at Georgia College at the T5 certification level is intended for persons who already hold or qualify for a level four (T4) Georgia Teacher's certificate. The advanced level of certification is associated with the completion of the Master of Education degree program in Early Childhood Education. The program extends and expands the study of the development of children at an advanced level as outlined in the conceptual framework. Within the context of the master's degree program, candidates are exposed to a wide variety of information related to education and work with children with particular emphasis on serving as mentors for beginning teachers, advocating for children in the larger professional community, and conducting action research in classrooms.

Program Admission Requirements

• Have a 2.75 or better GPA from an accredited college/university
• Hold or be eligible for a Professional Certificate, level four (4) Georgia Teacher Certificate 
• Submit two professional recommendations (pdf) using the College of Education format 
• Submit official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended 
•  Submit verification of immunization (pdf)

Program of Study

The Master of Education degree requires a minimum of 36 semester hours of course work in professional education, the certification area, and program requirements or electives. The degree program must be completed within six years beginning with the initial date of course work. Students may be required to take more than the minimum 36 hours in order to qualify for certification in initial certification programs. Only those courses listed on the Program of Graduate Study fulfill degree requirements. Substitutions must be approved by the advisor prior to course enrollment and a Course Substitution Form submitted to the appropriate departmental chairperson prior to enrollment. Up to nine (9)- graduate credit hours may be substituted with the approval of the advisor prior to course enrollment. The appropriate form and documentation must be submitted with your request. Grades below a C do not fulfill degree requirements.

Total Credit Hours: 36

Advisement

The program coordinator, in cooperation with the departmental admission committees and department chair, assigns each admitted student to an advisor in the chosen area of study. It is the responsibility of the student to meet with the assigned advisor to develop an individualized program of study that meets the course work requirements. A signed program of study must be filed with the Departmental Chairperson in order to be fully admitted.

Exit Requirements

All students must pass a comprehensive departmental exit requirement and fulfill degree requirements to graduate including an electronic portfolio presentation. Students are to check with their assigned program advisor for specifics.

Graduate Assistantships


Dismissal Policy

Any course in which a student earns less than a C will not be counted for graduate credit in the student’s master’s degree program, and any course in which a student earns less than a B will not be counted for graduate credit in the educational specialist programs. A graduate student will be placed on academic probation if the student’s institutional grade point average falls below 3.0 at any point during his or her graduate studies. A graduate student will be dismissed from the program if his/her grade point average stays below 3.0 for two consecutive semesters. As iterated in the student Honor Code, academic honesty is a critical component of the academic process in the Early Childhood program.  Submitting another’s work as one’s own is plagiarism; allowing another student to copy one’s own work is cheating. Both, along with any other evidence of academic dishonesty, will be dealt with using the procedures outlined in the Graduate Catalog.