Associate in Applied Science Degree
Early Childhood Education

The 60 credit-hour curriculum is designed to provide students with the requisite skills and theoretical knowledge to work in a variety of facilities for young children as a teacher or director for half-day and full day early childhood centers; a teacher's assistant in academic at-risk, special needs and public school classrooms; resource and referral agencies; before/after school care, recreational programs and related settings.

Students must choose a basic program of study as a teacher or director. Students earning an associate in applied science degree in early childhood auction must complete the following required general education courses, required core courses, and 21 credit hours from the specialized study areas.

Upon completion of courses for the specialized area of director, and in order to qualify for the Illinois Director Credential, students will need to provide proof of successful passing the Illinois Basic Skills Test, First Aid/CPR certification, and verification of 1200 hours of management experience.

Required General Education Courses:
ENG 101 Composition 3
ENG 103 Technical and Report Writing or
SPE 101 Fundamentals of Speech Communication 3
Humanities elective (1) 3
Mathematics (2) 3
Natural Science elective (3) 3
PSY 101 Introduction to Psychology 3
Required Core Courses:
ECE 101 Introduction to Early Childhood Education 3
ECE 102 Child Development I 3
ECE 103 Child Development II 3
ECE 115 Principles of Early Childhood Curriculum 3
ECE 226 Observation and Guidance of the Young Child 3
ECE 250 Health, Nutrition and Safety 3
ECE 252 Child-Family-Community 3
Specialized Study Areas:
Teacher
Required:
ECE 209 Language Development and Activities for the Young Child 3
ECE 210 Creative Activities for Young Children or
ECE 230 Movement and Rhythms for the Young Child 3
ECE 219 Psychology of Exceptional Children or
ECE 223 Exceptional Child in Early Childhood Programs 3
ECE 221 Math and Science for the Young Child 3
ECE 291 Early Childhood Practicum I 3
ECE 292 Early Childhood Practicum II 3
ECE electives (4) 3
Director
Required:
CIS 120 Introduction to Business Software 3
ECE 120 Psychology of Exceptional Children 3
ECE 253 Administration of Early Childhood Programs 3
ECE 254 Interpersonal Relations in Early Childhood Education 1
ECE 293 Early Childhood Director Practicum 3
FSM 114 Food Standards and Sanitation 2
MGT 160 Principles of Supervision 3
MKT 245 Principles of Marketing 3


  1. Humanities elective: ART 105, HST 210, HUM 110, LIT 219, MUS 103, MUS 104, PHI 115, SGN 101, SPE 111.
  2. A competency test, available in the Assessment and Testing Center, may be utilized to meet the mathematics requirement. Students who utilize the competency test to meet the mathematics requirement must complete SOC 101 in order to have the 60 semester hours required for this degree.
  3. Natural Science elective: BIO 101 or BIO 103.
  4. ECE electives: Any ECE course including ECE 140, ECE 143, ECE 144, ECE 146, ECE 149, ECE 151, ECE 152, ECE 153, ECE 154, ECE 155, or ECE 156.

Printable Version

Associate Degree (.pdf)