1.	The applicant must have earned a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
2.	The applicant must hold a Massachusetts Department of Education license in Early Childhood Education at the Initial level (or above) or hold Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (formerly OCCS) certification as Lead Teacher, Director I and/or Director II and have one year’s teaching experience in early childhood education.
3.	The applicant must have a minimum undergraduate quality point average of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale.
4.	The applicant must submit satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination General Test.

The degree requires successful completion of ten (10) courses, which include three (3) core courses, three (3) required courses and four (4) elective courses. A professional portfolio is completed as part of the degree program. An oral comprehensive examination is required of all students as the culminating experience.
Prerequisites: Upper level undergraduate or graduate level reading/literacy course within the past 5 years or 14.907 Literacy Instruction
Core Courses (3)
14.991	Philosophy of Education and Teaching Practice
14.998	Language Development and Communication
14.999	Research and Evaluation (recommended after completion of three Content or Concentration courses)
Required Courses (3)
14.901	Integrating the Language Arts
14.962	Developmental Patterns of Children with Special Needs
42.964	Advanced Principles of Learning and Development
Elective Courses (4)
Students select four (4) elective courses to complete their program of study. To satisfy the elective requirements, students must meet the requirements listed for Group A and Group B.
Group A	Select two elective courses from the following:
14.911	Play and Observation
14.912	Advanced Early Childhood Curriculum
14.956	Curriculum Development & Modification (prerequisite: 14.962 Developmental Patterns of Children with Special Needs)
14.963	Behavior and Classroom Management (prerequisite: 14.962 Developmental Patterns of Children with Special Needs)
Group B	Select two elective courses from the following:
	One additional course from Group A
	21.888 Literature for the Young Child or     21.866 Literature for Children
	One or two master’s degree level graduate courses in mathematics, English (excluding additional children’s literature course), literacy, history, economics, geography, biology, chemistry, physics and Earth sciences, and/ or art. Consultation with the advisor is strongly recommended when selecting content area courses from this list.
	One or two master’s degree level graduate courses in other areas appropriate to the student’s professional goals (e.g. special education, business, supervision) Written advisor approval is required for courses selected for this option.