Application Requirements

All students must meet the requirements for this program, which include:

1. A four-year undergraduate degree:
   • An approved Bachelor of Education degree, OR
   • An approved four-year undergraduate degree in a related field*, OR
   • An approved Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Fine Arts with an early childhood education minor
2. An overall average of 76% (B+) or better in all third- and fourth-year courses or at least 12 third- and fourth-year credits with an overall average of 80% (A-) or better in the field of education or a related field*
3. Minimum of two years professional experience working with young children in an appropriate setting

* Related Fields include, but are not limited to, Child and Youth Care, Nursing, Psychology, Social Work and Family Studies.

Applicants whose degree is in an unrelated field (e.g., Arts, Commerce, General Studies) may be accepted if they have completed a college or university certificate program in early childhood education or if they have extensive professional experience in early childhood education or a related field.

Experience & Interests

Applicants are required to answer the following questions about their professional experience and interests, and academic and professional goals, and how they align with the graduate program in Early Childhood Education:

• Introduce your specific professional experience and interests. What specific issue, area, or population would you like to explore and acquire experience in? Why is it important to you, other practitioners, early educators, and the communities with whom and where you hope to work. Please limit your response to 400 words.
• Outline your general career objectives, including both immediate and long-term, academic and professional goals. In your response indicate how you see this aligning with the graduate program in Early Childhood Education. Please limit your response to 400 words.
• Please describe any professional experiences you’ve undertaken that are relevant to study in Early Childhood Education. Please limit your response to 400 words.
• Considering an inclusive definition of culture (Collins & Arthur, 2010; Kassan & Sinacore, 2016) that includes but is not limited to cultural identities and social locations such as race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, status in country, Indigenous heritage, religion, spirituality, social class, physical and mental abilities, and disabilities, please describe any experiences and/or training you have with this inclusive definition of culture. Discuss and how it relates to your past, present, and future/proposed work in early childhood education. How do you think your own cultural background and professional experiences have influenced your practice and research goals? In addressing these questions, you may choose to speak to issues such as forms of privilege you have, your own identity, your knowledge of the history of the field of ECE, and/or how your professional interests relate to issues of culture, diversity, and social justice. Please limit your response to 400 words.

Reference Letters

Reference letters are very important in the application process; applicants are required to submit three reference letters (one academic and two professional) that speak to their academic potential and their professional qualities. At the same time, some applicants may encounter serious difficulties in retrieving these letters. The following options are presented for these applicants:

1. Academic reference: In the event of an applicant not being able to obtain an academic references, it could be substituted for an additional professional reference that also speaks to the applicant’s capacity to articulate ideas and to support them with the appropriate references when writing reports, summaries, lesson plans, and/or any work related resources. For teachers, academic advisors (teachers who supervised them during their practicum) may be asked to write this letter, should the applicant have no access to another faculty member.
2. Professional reference(s): In the event of an applicant not being able to obtain two professional letter of reference, a letter from a board or committee overseeing their current place of employment, or a letter from a professional in an agency that has collaborated with their program (for example, from a consultant and coordinator from programs like the Supported Child Development Program, if working with a child or children with special needs) will be acceptable.

Writing Sample

For those students who have no access to a previous paper completed in the last 15 years, or to a publication, or report, please select one of the two articles uploaded here; provide a scholarly summary of the article with your own reflections and connections to practice. This summary has a word count of 500 words, in addition to the reference list that matches references provided in text (preferably using APA format; at the same time, MLA and other formats are acceptable).

1. Gagné, M., Guhn, M., Emerson, S., Magee, C., Milbrath, C. and Gadermann, A. (2019). “Thriving, catching up or falling behind: Immigrant and refugee children’s kindergarten competencies and later academic achievement”, International Journal of Population Data Science, 4(3). doi: 10.23889/ijpds.v4i3.1222.
2. Argent, A.L., D. Vintimilla, C., Lee, C. and Wapenaar, J. (2017). A dialogue about place and living pedagogies: Trees, ferns, blood, children, educators and wood cutters. Journal of Childhoods and Pedagogies, 1(2). Retrieved from: https://journals.sfu.ca/jcp/index.php/jcp/article/view/23/30

Resume

Applicants must include a full professional resume with their application. Items covered should include: education, coursework, employment history, volunteer work or other related experience (i.e. publications, interests).

ALL APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE:
The minimum degree requirement for admission is a 4-year bachelor degree. This is a Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies requirement that cannot be waived, regardless of professional experience.

Eligibility for candidates with a 3-year baccalaureate will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the academic department and the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

International Applicants

• Please refer to the UBC Minimum Academic Requirements for international students.
• We also recommend that you review the English Language Proficiency Requirements to ensure you meet the English language requirements.

If you require assistance with your application as an international student, please contact the Senior Program Assistant.

Fees

Graduate tuition is assessed as an annual program fee, which is divided into three equal installments due at the beginning of academic terms starting in September, January and May.

Students in this program will pay a minimum of 8 installments.

Student Fees

Student fees include fees established and authorized by the UBC Board of Governors and fees established and authorized by students societies. These fees are in addition to tuition fees. Please see the UBC Calendar for details on student fees.

Fees are subject to change annually. Only information in the UBC Calendar is official

Funding Eligibility

As this program is part-time, it is not eligible for student loans or other types of funding.

How to Apply

Application Status: Opening October 1, 2023

Application Deadline: December 1, 2023

Document Deadline: January 13, 2023

Info Sessions

Have questions? We’ve got answers!

Meet the Program Advisor and Senior Program Assistant, and learn more about this program and about applying to become a UBC graduate student.

There are currently no info sessions scheduled for this program

Program Review Video – October 2022

Contacts

For program content questions:

Dr. Iris Berger
Cohort Advisor
Early Childhood Education (ECE)
604-822-6593
iris.berger@ubc.ca

For application questions or assistance:

Tasnim Al-Obaidi
Senior Program Assistant
604-827-5662
eced.educ@ubc.ca

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