The top accredited education degree programs in Indiana offer opportunities for students fresh out of high school as well as those who already have a bachelor’s degree and a teaching license. You have the chance to specialize your degree and work with students who have special needs, kids of a certain age or those with an interest in a specific subject. If you are new to college, you can even enroll in an education program that will help you obtain your teaching license once you graduate, which can help you find work in a private or public school. Look at all the programs available in the Hoosier State. To see more accredited education degree programs in Indiana, visit Early Childhood Education Degree Programs in Indiana (A-L).
Marian University
School of Education
Located in Indianapolis, Marian University is one of several Roman Catholic colleges in the state that welcome students of all religious beliefs. Founded in 1851 as a teacher preparedness school, it offered training programs for those teachers and operated for several years before the state established its first normal school. Marian University later became a traditional four-year university and saw its population grow to more than 2,700 students. Though Marian University offers more than just teaching programs today, its education programs are popular among those who want to work with younger children as well as those who want to teach teens.
Bachelor’s in Early Childhood-Elementary Education
When you enroll in the Bachelor’s in Early Childhood-Elementary Education that Marian University offers, you have the chance to gain more teaching experience in a number of different ways. The university is home to the Academy for Teaching and Learning Leadership and offers community outreach programs that let you go out into the Indianapolis area to meet with and help those in need. There is also an honors society that is open to education majors who maintain a high grade point average. Marian requires that students in this program start their field experiences as a freshmen. You’ll have the chance to both observe classes and work in schools in both rural and urban settings. The university also has a reciprocity arrangement with other states that makes it easier for you to obtain a teaching license in another state after graduating from Marian University.
Accreditation
- Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
Contact
3200 Cold Spring Road
Indianapolis, IN 46222-1997
(317) 955-6000
https://www.marian.edu/educators-college
Purdue University
College of Health and Human Sciences
Purdue University is one of the largest and most reputable colleges in Indiana. Founded in 1869, the university named itself after John Purdue, a wealthy local man who donated the land and money necessary for the school to open. Washington Monthly and ARWU rank Purdue as one of the top 50 American colleges, and it also ranks on the lists that Forbes and U.S. News & World Report issued of American schools. Many of its science and technology programs, including those in engineering and computer science, rank among the top programs offered by all colleges in the United States.
Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education and Exceptional Needs
The Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education and Exceptional Needs is a program offered by Purdue University that you will not find on any other college campus. Designed for those who want to work with children who have special needs, this program is suitable for those who want to work in preschools and similar schools. Many of its graduates work as intervention specialists and help parents and educators create programs based around the specific needs of certain students. Finishing this program can also help you transition into a graduate program in education or social work. Purdue requires that students maintain a 2.8 GPA in all core classes to continue with the program. It includes both general education courses as well as education classes like assessment literacy, math in primary and preschool grades, music and movement in primary and preschool grades, foundations of infant and toddler curriculum and a supervised teaching experience.
Accreditation
Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
Contact
700 W. State Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907
(765) 494-4600
Purdue University Northwest
School of Education & Counseling
Located in the northwestern portion of the state, Purdue University Northwest is a regional branch of Purdue University that operated as Purdue University Calumet for a number of years. The Calumet and North Central branches of the university’s system announced plans in 2014 to merge and received accreditation for the merger just two years later. This merger allowed the campuses to combine their resources and increase the number of opportunities available for its students. Purdue University Northwest now includes two separate campuses in Indiana and has an enrollment of more than 15,000 students, which makes it one of the state’s largest schools.
Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education
Getting a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education is the key to finding work in a preschool or a setting that caters to younger students. The Purdue University Northwest program requires that you take a minimum of 120 credits and that you maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher. It also limits the number of times that you can take certain classes to improve your grades. Thirty of the credits that you take will come from required courses on technology, English composition, social sciences, speech and other classes. All remaining credits will come from your electives as well as your education classes. Those classes may include literacy in the elementary school, environmental science for elementary education, literacy and the young child and developmental theory and practice. Purdue University Northwest also requires that teaching majors do an observation and then take a seminar course to practice their teaching skills.
Accreditation
- Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
Contact
2200 169th Street
Hammond, IN 46323
(219) 989-2400
Saint Joseph’s College
Graduate School
Saint Joseph’s College is a small college campus in Indiana that has an affiliation with the Catholic Church. The Princeton Review ranked the college as the best school in the Midwest, but it also received recognition from other organizations and publications too. It especially has a strong reputation for its placement rates because an average of 97% of its graduates find work in their fields within one year of leaving the school. Before you apply to the college though, you should check its website to see if it will accept your application. SJC announced in 2017 that it would temporarily shut down.
M.A. Infant/Toddler Early Childhood Special Education
One reason to enroll in the M.A. Infant/Toddler Early Childhood Special Education program that SJC offers is because it can help you gain the practical experience necessary to work with students who have special needs that might make them feel distracted while in class. Depending on where you get your teaching license, you may find that the state requires you continue your education to maintain your license. Programs like this let you meet this step and work on your degree over a longer period of time. While some students will graduate in two years as a full-time student, you can spend up to five years working on your degree as a part-time student. You’ll take classes that teach you the basics of designing and creating a special education curriculum, how to handle students who act out and even tips on dealing with the other educators in your school.
Accreditation
- Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
Contact
PO Box 870
Rensselaer, IN 47978
(219) 866-6000
http://www.saintjoe.edu/graduate-programs
Saint Mary’s College
Department of Education
Many people know Saint Mary’s College because it is so close to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. Founded in 1844 as a prep school, it offered students the chance to live on-campus and take classes designed to help them succeed in college. Saint Mary’s later became a full college and became a well-known female institution of higher learning. It admitted female students in the days when Notre Dame banned women from enrolling. It now offers two master’s programs that are open to men and women, but all its undergrad programs are only open to women.
Bachelor’s in Elementary Education with a minor in Early Childhood Education
Saint Mary’s College is one of just a few schools that will let you major in elementary education and minor in early childhood education. The elementary education bachelor’s program allows you to meet the standards necessary for getting a license that will let you teach kindergarten classes through sixth grade classes. In addition to gen ed courses, you’ll take 65 courses that make up the education core. Many of those classes focus on teaching certain subjects to elementary school students such as math, language arts, reading and social studies. You’ll earn a total of 12 credits for the teaching work that you do in the field, and Saint Mary’s will assign you a local school to work in when you reach this stage. To complete a minor in early childhood education, you’ll take just five extra classes like introduction to early childhood education and curriculum and assessment in early childhood education.
Accreditation
- Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
Contact
Saint Mary’s College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
(574) 284-4000
https://www.saintmarys.edu/academics/departments/education
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Education Department
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is one of the only colleges in the country with an equine studies department that offers programs designed for those who want to work with or own horses. Even if you do not take classes from this department though, you’ll like the opportunities that the college offers, including its service learning programs and study abroad options. Founded in 1840 as a teaching academy for women, it earned a charter from the state just a few years later. SMWC later changed its admissions policy to admit males, which helped the college grow to an enrollment of more than 1,500 students.
Preschool-Grade 3 Education/Mild Intervention (P-3/MI) Bachelor’s
SMWC designed its Preschool-Grade 3 Education/Mild Intervention (P-3/MI) Bachelor’s to help students obtain a teaching license in Indiana upon completion, but the program can also help you meet the laws necessary for getting a license in another state. It includes an education core of 18 credit hours and a series of developmental and content courses that are worth 44 credits. Core education courses include growth and development, education in a global society, observations in schools and assessment for learning. The 44 developmental courses that you’ll take might include literacy instruction for diverse learners, early childhood program administration, infants and toddlers and principles of teaching in inclusive settings. SMWC also awards students 23 credits for the fieldwork they do. You’ll do five fieldwork experiences in urban schools and preschools as well as experiences in kindergarten and elementary school classes. The college also requires that students do two supervised teaching programs.
Accreditation
- Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
Contact
1 St. Mary of the Woods College
Saint Mary of the Woods, IN 47876
(812) 535-5151
http://www.smwc.edu/academic/education/
University of Southern Indiana
Teacher Education
The University of Southern Indiana, usually called USI, is a large public university with a flagship campus conveniently located near Evansville. Founded in 1965 as a branch of Indiana State University, it offered courses and programs for students who could not afford to move to a larger city for college. It remained a regional branch of that university system until 1965, when the state granted USI its own independent charter. Though the university only offers a small number of advanced programs, it has more than 70 degree programs at the undergrad level. Several of the USI online programs rank among the nation’s best.
Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education
USI believes that the best teachers are those who have both experience and education, which is why it requires that students majoring in early childhood education go through both classroom training as well as field training. You must take 39 credits of core or general education classes and 41 credits of education courses to finish a Bachelor of Arts degree. Those who want to earn a Bachelor of Science degree must take 44 credits. There is also a core of early childhood education classes that are worth 54 credits and include introduction to children’s literature, language and literacy in the early years, guidance of young children, and early childhood curriculum and instruction. You’ll also earn up to nine credits for the supervised fieldwork that you do in a preschool. The University of Southern Indiana asks all education majors to take a seminar on professionalism in the workplace also.
Accreditation
- Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
Contact
8600 University Blvd.
Evansville, IN 47712
(812) 464-8600
https://www.usi.edu/science/teacher-education/
Whether you are a first-time college student, or you already have your teaching degree, you’ll find plenty of programs in your state that are right for you. The best accredited education degree programs in Indiana are available from both public and private colleges that want to train the next generation of teachers.
