该计划旨在使幼儿教育者做好准备，以领导在有或没有特殊需要的儿童，通过幼儿园及其家人出生的年龄方面的工作。课程和经验包括专业学习社区，在该社区中，学生与来自不同内容领域和年级的其他研究生进行互动，以讨论和应对他们在学校和其他环境中通过幼儿计划遇到的现实世界中的挑战和有前途的做法。IECE计划的毕业生有资格与孩子一起工作，从出生到进入初级计划。这包括在幼儿园或五岁以下儿童的其他课程中教孩子，前提是这些课程与小学课程分开进行。毕业生为在公立学校，“第一步”，“启蒙计划”，儿童保育中心以及为幼儿和家庭服务的其他公
The program is designed to prepare early childhood educators to provide leadership in working with children with and without special needs, ages birth through kindergarten and their families. Courses and experiences include Professional Learning Communities in which students interact with other graduate students from various content areas and grade levels to discuss and work on real world challenges and promising practices they encounter in schools and other settings with early childhood programs. IECE program graduates are qualified to work with children from birth to entry into the primary program. This includes teaching children in kindergarten or other programs for five-year-olds if those programs are operated separately from the primary program. Graduates are prepared for positions in public schools, First Steps, Head Start programs, child care centers, and other public and private agencies serving young children and families. In addition, graduates may serve in leadership roles, such as preschool consultant, professional development provider, child evaluation specialist, etc. This degree program is designed for individuals who have prior teaching certification in IECE. The 36-hour program of study consists of 15 semester hours of professional education coursework, 12 semester hours of required specialization courses, and 9 semester hours of specialization electives approved by the advisor.