DePaul University’s College of Education proudly announces a new program strand to its education doctorate degree to address a growing need for leaders in the field of early childhood education.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the field of early childhood education will see 19 to 26 percent job growth through 2018, outpacing the average for all other professions.

Well aware of the high economic returns for investing in early childhood education, policymakers in many states have rapidly expanded pre-kindergarten programs to address the surging demand for high-quality early childhood education professionals. In 2009, Congress created a competitive grant program called Race to the Top to encourage and support innovative educational reforms in all states.

Despite the national attention, the field struggles with a shortage of professors in colleges and universities who will train the teachers of tomorrow. Only 53 universities in the United States offer Ph.D. or Ed.D. programs in early childhood education or a related field, and only 80 doctoral degrees were awarded in early childhood education in 2009 (the most recent year available).

DePaul’s new program will prepare candidates for careers in research, academia, public school administration, school/center agency and state agency administration, program design and evaluation, as well as leadership, advocacy and policy development.

Remaining true to DePaul’s mission of teaching, research and public service, faculty will mentor students to serve a diverse community of children and families, by the examples they set for such work locally, nationally, and internationally.

DePaul currently has the third-largest early childhood education program in the state of Illinois. Its program offers teacher certification in traditional undergraduate instruction, a program for adults in the School for New Learning, and a graduate certification program with options for special education and bilingual endorsements.

For more information about DePaul’s early childhood doctoral education program, please contact Dr. Mojdeh Bayat at (773) 325-1687 or mbayat@depaul.edu.