Missouri State University

Childhood Education and Family Studies

Elementary Education Program

Why study elementary education at Missouri State?

  • We are the largest program in the state that provides our students with experiences to become effective elementary teachers.
  • You will have opportunities to work with children from diverse backgrounds, including those from poverty, through a unique internship in a Title 1 school.
  • You will have multiple "real work" experiences through practica, internships, clinical experiences, and other formal and informal opportunities in classrooms and other settings prior to graduation.
  • You will graduate from a program that has a high rate of placement and employment immediately following graduation.
  • You will interact with highly qualified and dedicated faculty and staff members who represent a wide variety of content expertise, backgrounds and interests.
  • You may apply for admission to our eMINTS preparation program leading to eMINTS certification.
  • You will complete a program with a tradition of more than 100 years of preparing high quality elementary teaching professionals at Missouri State.

Emphasis areas

As part of our program, you will complete a 12-hour emphasis of your choice in one of more than 15 majors or minors related to elementary education, including:

  • Art
  • Child Development
  • Communication arts - literature and writing
  • Communication arts - speaking and listening
  • Communication arts - TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages)
  • Conservation Education
  • Cultural and linguistic diversity
  • Foreign language
  • Instructional technology (eMINTS)
  • Mathematics
  • Middle school education
  • Music
  • Physical education
  • Psychology
  • Reading education
  • Science
  • Special education

After successfully completing our program, students are certified in the state of Missouri to teach grades 1-6. Our elementary education program is approved by the Missouri State Board of Education, accredited by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and NCATE and nationally recognized by the Association for Childhood Education International.