Career Preparation

We provide excellent, hands-on educator and professional preparation in early childhood education in a naturalistic setting, which also offers opportunities to learn about child and family development.

Career Fields

We provide a setting for professional preparation in related fields, which is not limited to the following:

  • Exercise Science
  • Health and Human Services
  • Communicative Disorders and Sciences
  • Physical Therapy
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Nursing

Early Childhood Education Opportunities

Your First Clinical Placement - LAI 507/490 Internship

Each semester, approximately 40 undergraduate students enrolled in Supervised Teaching in Early Childhood complete their first clinical placement practicum experience at the ECRC.

LAI 507 — Supervised Teaching in Pre-K

LAI 490 — Seminar & Practicum in Early Childhood

LAI 507/490 is a combined course that actively involves graduate and undergraduate students, one morning or afternoon per week, in a preschool classroom experience at the Early Childhood Research Center. It offers pre-service teachers a mentored learning experience in a NAEYC-accredited multicultural preschool setting.

Interns are required to complete 60 clinical hours over the course of a semester. In addition to the classroom experience, interns attend a weekly one-hour seminar that provides the support needed for understanding and applying a constructive play curriculum that fosters children's social, emotional, physical and cognitive development.

Student Practicum Placements

We accept six students per academic year for their practicum placements in UBTeach or the UB Early Childhood/Childhood master’s program. These six students conduct a semester-long, full-time early childhood placement in one of our three classrooms alongside one of our Early Childhood Leads, all of whom are NYS certified in early childhood education. Typically, you will be asked to interview for a practicum placement after your internship with us at the ECRC. The ECRC administration selects each of these placements and works with the Office of Educator Preparation to identify these students.

UB Work Study Program

We accept work-study students as either classroom assistants or office assistants. If you are interested in working at the ECRC for work study, please apply on Bullseye powered by Handshake or email your résumé to our associate director Keely Benson.