About the PK-3 Specialist Instruction Credential
Our PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential offers a pathway to become a teacher with hands-on classroom experience in preschool through Grade 3 classrooms. California will need 15,000 TK teachers this year, and this credential will significantly improve your teaching skills, while increasing your employment mobility.
With a PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential, you will confidently be able to teach all subjects in a self-contained general education classroom setting, participate in team teaching, or regroup students in Preschool through Grade 3, all while helping your students prepare for ongoing educational success.
Our credential is intended to meet the unprecedented need for qualified ECE teachers who have the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide developmentally appropriate learning for all young children.
We partner with many school districts for clinical practice placements. These schools are chosen based on their ethnic, race, and socioeconomic diversity, as well as the inclusion of students with disabilities and the use of curriculum that is aligned with California's adopted content standards and frameworks.
This program is available in person or online.
CANDIDATES WILL:
- PK-3 Candidates will demonstrate knowledge of how to provide support to all students by accessing programs and collaborating with school personnel and the community
- PK-3 Candidates will reflect on their own practice and use that information to Improve their teaching and learning
- PK-3 Candidates will understand and take responsibility for the learning outcomes of all children and demonstrate professional responsibility to protect the privacy, health, and safety of all children
- PK-3 Candidates will learn the requirements of acting with integrity and ethics when working with children, families, and the community.
> > Credential begins Fall 2026. Currently accepting applications. APPLY NOW
- Statement of Purpose
- Statement of Professional Dispositions
- Bachelor Degree from an accredited college or university
- PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Subject Matter Competency Requirement
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
- Certificate of Clearance issued by the CTC
- Two letters of recommendation (Please use this Letter of Recommendation Template for your recommenders, giving them time to complete and submit by the application deadline)
- Basic Skills Bachelor Degree Requirement
- Complete Preprogram Field Experience Verification Form
- Current Resume
CURRICULUM:
| FALL SEMESTER (12 units) | SPRING SEMESTER (12 units) | SUMMER SESSION (9 units) |
|
EDUC X320 Foundations of Education for PK-3 (3 units) EDUC X321 Education and the Inclusive Classroom PK-3 (2 units) EDUC X330 Integrated Literacy, ELD, and Humanities in PK-3 (3 units) EDUC X331.1 TPA Support Seminar 1 (1 unit) EDUC X 334 PK-3 Practicum (3 units) |
EDUC X340 Integrated Literacy, ELD, and Humanities in K-3 Classroom (3 units) EDUC X341 STEAM in the K-3 Classroom (3 units) EDUC X332 Equity, Inclusion, Diversity (2 units) EDUC X333.1 TPA Support Seminar 2 (1 unit) EDUC X334 PK-3 Practicum (3 units) |
EDUC X342 Data-Driven Decision Making (2 units) EDUC X331 STEAM in the P-TK Classroom (3 units) EDUC X322 Child Development and Learning: Conception through PK-3 (2 units) EDUC X323 Health and Wellness: Educating the Whole Child (2 units) |
Estimated Cost of Attendance: $ 15,700 (tuition and related credential fees = 34 units x $450)
Click here for more information about tuition and fees, including financial aid.
