Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, offers an interdisciplinary graduate studies certificate program to prepare individuals in a variety of disciplines for service delivery or research careers involving infants and young children, including those at risk or those with disabilities, and their families.

Students may enroll in courses while pursuing a master's or doctoral degree program at Rutgers in a relevant field. An Infant/Early Childhood Specialist Interdisciplinary Studies (ISIS) certificate will be issued only to students completing a degree at the time the degree is awarded. Appropriate master's or doctoral degree programs include educational, developmental, clinical, or school psychology; special education; social work; and early childhood education. Students who wish to receive an ISIS certificate must complete and return an application to the Department of Educational Psychology prior to graduation. Upon completing the M.Ed., Psy.D., Ph.D., or Ed.D., students request the award of the ISIS certificate from the director of the ISIS program.

Requirements for the Infant/Early Childhood Specialist Interdisciplinary Studies certificate are:

1.  Eighteen credits of course work in infant/early childhood studies passed with an average of B or better, of which 12 credits must be earned from the following courses:

  15:255:512  Enhancing Learning and Development for Infants and Young Children (3)

  15:290:520  Motor, Biological, and Neurological Development and Issues in Infancy and Early Childhood (3)

  15:290:521  Psychosocial Issues in Infant, Early Childhood, and Family Development (3)

  15:290:522  Cognition and Language from Birth to Five: Normal Development and Implications of Risk and Disability (3)

  15:290:523  Interdisciplinary Assessment of Infants and Young Children (3)

  15:290:525  Externship in Applied Infant and Early Childhood Development (3)

Students must have a good background in child development to begin the sequence. A recent graduate course in child development or permission of the instructor is a prerequisite for enrollment in the ISIS classes.

2.  One course in multicultural relations.

3.  Students who intend to participate in early intervention or other service delivery systems should (a) have some applied experience in appropriate settings (the equivalent of two terms of one day per week practicum in a setting providing services to infants and/or young children and their families); and (b) complete all required courses, with the exception of those where content repeats prior educational experience.

4.  Completion of a research or scholarly project related to infants and/or young children and their families, including but not limited to the master's thesis or doctoral dissertation.