Admissions for Early Childhood Education UWW

Paraeducators (or teachers of record) without bachelor’s degrees can work towards a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Early Childhood Education, leading to Massachusetts Initial licensure in ECE (PreK-2). Teacher candidates from the ECE/UWW Licensure program are eligible to secure teaching positions in the public school they are currently employed upon graduation. 

Eligibility 

Paraeducators or teachers of record who work within the approved school districts can apply for this program and must also meet the following admission criteria. 

  1.  Do not have a bachelor’s degree 
  2. Do not have a teaching license 
  3.  Have a minimum of 12 transferable college credits with a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average 
  4. Take a Language Proficiency exam, if needed¹
  5.  Have been employed a minimum of 2 years in an approved school district 
  6.  Have endorsement from their school principal 
  7.  Be endorsed by their school district who must recommend you to the ECE/UWW Licensure pathway 

Paraeducators and Teachers of Record without a Bachelor’s degree who are interested in the ECE/UWW Licensure Pathway must first gain endorsement from their districts before they can enter the program. *Please reach out to eceuww [at] umass [dot] edu for more information and to find out if your district has partnered with us. 

Students are only admitted in the Fall semester and must apply to UWW by the following deadlines.

  • Early application deadline - May 1
  • Regular application deadline - June 1
  • Application materials deadline - July 1 

¹Exemption:

  • Be a native speaker of English in a country where English is the primary language.  
  • English education: Entire secondary education (four years) is at a school where English is the primary language of   
    instruction and the British or American curriculum is followed.  
  • Submit official scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The minimum score to qualify for   
    admission is 80 (internet-based TOEFL). An IELTS score of 6.5 is also accepted. Please note that student score reports are   
    not considered official. Scores only accepted for 2 years after test date.  
  • Complete two non-ESL English composition courses at a U.S. college or university with grades of B or better, as well as   
    several humanities and/or social science courses with above-average grades. The determination about whether or not a   
    student’s academic record verifies English language ability is made by the Admissions Office staff.

Licensure

All Educator Licensure programs at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Second Education to meet licensure requirements in the state of Massachusetts ONLY.   It is not determined whether the programs meet any other state's requirements.

Many US states are signatories to the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement which facilitates the mobility of educators among the states that are members of NASDTEC. This agreement makes it possible for an educator who completed an approved program and/or who holds a certificate or license in one jurisdiction to earn a certificate or license in another state or jurisdiction, with possible additional requirements. 

If you are seeking licensure in another state, here is a Teacher Licensure Agency Directory for you to contact other states.