BS-MS in Childhood Special Education

Nyack’s Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree in Childhood Special Education, a five-year program, prepares students for New York State certification to teach children in grades one to six in general education, special education, or inclusive contexts. Our program has reciprocity with virtually all other states, allowing our graduates to teach outside of New York State with relative ease. Candidates are also certified by ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International).

Why Study Childhood Special Education at Nyack?

Nyack’s biblically based program is highly regarded by Christian, public, charter, and private schools for the quality of its graduates with regards to their intellect, pedagogy, and disposition. In addition, our program:

• Leads to ACSI (Association of Christian School International) certification
• Leads to New York State certification
• Offers a Christian-centric study of childhood and special education (grades 1–6)
• Strongly emphasizes diverse and inclusive clinical experiences
• Offers overseas student teaching opportunities
• Offers Global Service-Learning opportunities
• Is taught by highly qualified and experienced Christian faculty

At a Glance

• Credits: 167–170
• Standard Completion Time: 5 years
• Accreditation: CAEP, CEC, ACEI
• Concentrations: Communication and the Arts, English, English with TESOL emphasis

What Will I Study?

What it means to be a Christian teacher in grades one to grade six in childhood and special education contexts

• Inclusive and diverse clinical experiences
• Cognitive, moral, and social child development from a Christian perspective
• The historical, social, and philosophical foundations of education
• Research-based pedagogical instructional strategies and assessments across disciplines
• Accommodations for diverse populations

Our Mission

Nyack College, a Christian and Missionary Alliance educational institution, through its undergraduate, graduate and seminary programs, pursues its historic mission of preparing men and women to “take the whole Gospel to the whole world.”

Core Values

Nyack seeks to exalt Jesus Christ and fulfill its mission by being:

Academically Excellent The academic excellence of Nyack has been recognized by the Middle States Commission on Accreditation, The New York State Department of Education, and The Association of Theological Schools.

Globally Engaged We live in a world that demands engagement from all of its citizens. Nyack will meet these 21st-century challenges with a commitment that for us dates back to the 19th century.

Intentionally Diverse Nyack is the most ethnically diverse Christian College in the history of American higher education. We celebrate this as an important part of both our effectiveness and our identity.

Personally Transforming This transformation is what occurs when students encounter Jesus Himself on our campus and abandon their citizenship of a self-centered, materialistic world in favor of becoming citizens of the Kingdom of heaven.

Socially Relevant Nyack graduates do more than take the words of Jesus to those who have never heard. Our graduates take the love of Jesus to those who have not known love.

A Little History

Over one hundred and thirty years ago, God ignited an overwhelming love for people of every race and tongue in the heart of a Canadian named A.B. Simpson. In those days, Simpson was pastor of a large and affluent church in Manhattan. In response to what God was doing in his own life, Simpson urged his congregants to reach out to the immigrants who were pouring into the city. He even went so far as to bring the poor and the downtrodden into his church. When he began to do this, many in the church were less than pleased.

So in a Sunday morning sermon in 1882, Simpson declared, “I am not interested in being a respectable Christian.” He left the church and began a new venture in which his burning desire to serve all people could be satisfied. He left his church to start a school in which people would be trained to take the Good News of God’s love wherever this news needed to be heard.

That school today is known as Nyack College.

Since its inception on the back of a Broadway stage in 1882, Nyack College has grown to become an institution of over 2,500 students pursuing a wide variety of graduate and undergraduate degrees on multiple campuses. At the heart of it all, is a burning commitment to bring the good news of God’s love wherever this news needed to be heard.

A.B. Simpson described this commitment as taking “the whole gospel” to “the whole world.” Today, as Nyack College serves students who represent “the whole world,” the result is a diverse and vibrant community unlike any other in higher education.