Early Childhood Education, AAAS

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Over the last decade an increased awareness about the importance of early childhood education has led to the distinctive instruction of young children. As a student of early childhood education you will learn how to teach young children and advocate for them and their families while developing a professional portfolio and student teaching.

Students must earn a minimum of 60 credit hours and have an overall GPA of 2.0 or higher in order to earn a degree. Students must also take any required third‐party exams, especially in the AAAS concentrations, such as NOCTI or NCLEX.

For accreditation information, click here.

Courses by Placement/Transfer

The following courses may be prerequisites for your program depending upon your placement scores or transfer evaluation. Advisors can assist you to integrate these into your program of study during your first semester at West Shore. Contact Student Services at 231.843.5510.

FYS 101 - First‐Year Seminar 2 credit hrs (Required for all first-time college students)
ENG 098 - Writing Essentials 3 credit hrs (Required if ENG 111 is required for the program)
MTH 021 - Intermediate Algebra Support 2 credit hrs OR MTH 023 - Introduction to Statistics Support 2 credit hrs OR MTH 025 - Quantitative Reasoning Support 2 credit hrs

Program of Study

Semester 1

ECE 101 - Intro to Early Childhood Education 4 credit hrs
ECE 132 - Promote Erly Lit and Language Dv 3 credit hrs
ENG 111 - English Composition I 3 credit hrs
POL 151 - American National Government 3 credit hrs
PSY 161 - Introduction to Psychology 3 credit hrs

Total: 16 Credit Hrs | 16 Contact Hrs

Semester 2

BUS 101 - Business Mathematics 3 credit hrs OR Select one Math OR Science Elective 4 credit hrs
ECE 125 - Early Childhood Ed Activities 3 credit hrs
ECE 130 - Childhood Dev for Early Child Edu 3 credit hrs
ENG 112 - English Composition II 3 credit hrs OR COM 101 - Principles of Speaking 3 credit hrs OR COM 110 - Interpersonal Communications 3 credit hrs
SOC 171 - Introduction to Sociology 3 credit hrs

Total: 16 Credit Hrs | 16 Contact Hrs (min)

Semester 3

ECE 120 - Early Childhood Ed and Child Care I 7 credit hrs
ECE 135 - Current Issues Early Childhood Ed 3 credit hrs
SPN 101 - Elementary Spanish I 4 credit hrs (Recommended) OR Select one Humanities Elective 3-4 credit hrs
PSY 262 - Child Psychology 3 credit hrs OR PSY 263 - Educational Psychology 3 credit hrs OR SOC 274 - Sociology of the Family 3 credit hrs OR SOC 275 - Social Problems 3 credit hrs

Total: 16 Credit Hrs | 19 Contact Hrs

Semester 4

ECE 121 - Early Child Ed and Child Care II 7 credit hrs
ECE 150 - Infant and Toddler Care 3 credit hrs
ECE 250 - Adm of Ely Childhood Ed Facilities 3 credit hrs
PSY 262 - Child Psychology 3 credit hrs OR PSY 263 - Educational Psychology 3 credit hrs OR SOC 274 - Sociology of the Family 3 credit hrs OR SOC 275 - Social Problems 3 credit hrs

Total: 16 Credit Hrs | 19 Contact Hrs

Degree Total: 64 Credit Hrs | 70 Contact Hrs

Students planning to enroll in Ferris State University’s BS Degree in Early Childhood Education should enroll in ENG 112 - English Composition II and MTH 121 - Intermediate Algebra .

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Early Childhood Education, AAAS

Courses by Placement/Transfer

Program of Study

Semester 1

Total: 16 Credit Hrs | 16 Contact Hrs

Semester 2

Total: 16 Credit Hrs | 16 Contact Hrs (min)

Semester 3

Total: 16 Credit Hrs | 19 Contact Hrs

Semester 4

Total: 16 Credit Hrs | 19 Contact Hrs

Degree Total: 64 Credit Hrs | 70 Contact Hrs