Early Childhood Education, Bachelor of Science in Education

• To receive a bachelor's degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete at least 120 units of credit that minimally includes a major, the liberal studies requirements, and university requirements as listed below.

  • All of Northern Arizona University's diversity, liberal studies, junior-level writing, and capstone requirements.
  • All requirements for your specific academic plan(s).
  • At least 30 units of upper-division courses, which may include transfer work.
  • At least 30 units of coursework taken through Northern Arizona University, of which at least 18 must be upper-division courses (300-level or above). This requirement is not met by credit-by-exam, retro-credits, transfer coursework, etc.
  • A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on all work attempted at Northern Arizona University.

  The full policy can be viewed here.

In addition to University Requirements:

• At least 68 units of major requirements
• At least 12-13 units of concentration requirements

• Up to 9 units of major prefix courses may be used to satisfy Liberal Studies requirements; these same courses may also be used to satisfy major requirements.

• Elective courses, if needed, to reach an overall total of at least 120 units.

Candidates in this program are required to demonstrate content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and skills, professional knowledge, and professional dispositions to be eligible to enter student teaching or internship placements.

Content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge or skills, professional dispositions are demonstrated through candidate performance on key assessments embedded in the following course(s):

• ECI 305, ECI 309, ECI 310, ECI 312, ECI 313, ECI 314, ECI 316, ECI 490C, ECI 492
• EPS 324
• BME 331W

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

Minimum Units for Completion	120
Major GPA	2.5
Highest Mathematics Required	MAT 155
Additional Admission Requirements	Required
Foreign Language	Optional
Fieldwork Experience/Internship	Required
University Honors Program	Optional
Some online/blended coursework	Required
Progression Plan Link	Not Available

Additional Admission Requirements

• Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

• To be eligible for admission to the program, candidates must meet the following requirements:
  
  45 units of coursework which includes:

  • EDF 200, MAT 150, and MAT 155 with grades of "C" or better
  • Two lab science courses with grades of "C" or better
  • The English foundations requirement (ENG 105 or equivalent) with a minimum GPA of 3.0.  (If your English GPA is below 3.0, you may take an approved writing course to achieve the 3.0 GPA.)
  • One of the following GPA requirements:

• • • A cumulative 2.5 GPA in Liberal Studies courses
    • A cumulative 2.5 GPA in all courses

• • Completion of a teacher orientation for Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, or Special Education
  • Submission of: 

• • • A positive endorsement from someone who has directly observed your work with children or adolescents within the ages of pre-school through high school. Such work experience can be either voluntary or paid, but must have occurred in a structured setting for a minimum of fifteen hours. Examples of acceptable experience may include work as a camp counselor, swimming instructor, Sunday school teacher, volunteer in a classroom, or other similar settings. 

• • A copy of your State-approved Identity-Verified Print (IVP) fingerprint clearance card obtainable through the Arizona Department of Public Safety (602-223-2279).

Major Requirements

• Take the following 68 units with a cumulative minimum GPA of 2.5 with no course lower than a "C":

  • MAT 150, MAT 155 (6 units)
  • EDF 200 (3 units)
  • BME 200, BME 331W (6 units)
  • EPS 324 (3 units)
  • ESE 380, ESE 436, ESE 456 (9 units)
  • ECI 305, ECI 309, ECI 310, ECI 312, ECI 313, ECI 314, ECI 315, ECI 316 (26 units)
  • ECI 308 Practicum, Literacy (1 unit)

• • ECI 308 Practicum, Infant-Toddler (1 unit)
  • ESE 308 Practicum, Early Childhood Special Education (1 unit)
  • ECI 490C, K-3 setting (6 units)
  • ECI 492, Birth - Pre-K setting, which meets early childhood teaching licensing requirements (6 units)
  Concentration Requirements (Select One):
  Note: You must earn a "C" or better in all concentration courses.

• • History/Social Studies (12 units)
    
    • Select any coursework with the following prefixes: HIS, POS, ANT, GSP
    Humanities (12 units)
    
    • Select any coursework with the following prefixes: ENG, HUM TH, MUS, ARH, ART
    Language/Cultural Diversity (12 units)
    
    • Select any coursework with the following prefixes: BME, FRE, GER, SPA, ASL, NAV, Navajo Culture and Navajo Language (taken from Dine College)
    Science (12 units)
    
    • Select any coursework with the following prefixes: GLG, GSP, BIO, ENV, AST, PHS, PHY, CHM, FOR
    Math (13 units)
    
    • MAT 114, MAT 125, MAT 401, (MAT 226 or STA 270) (13 units)

Teacher Preparation

• In all of our teacher education programs, you are required to complete a student teaching or internship experience. In addition, a minimum number of units of practicum is required, which involves supervised field experience with a practicing teacher.
  
  Before being accepted to student teaching, the following criteria must be met:

  • Admission to the teacher education program
  • NAU GPA must be at least 2.5, with a GPA of 3.0 in all teacher preparation courses, with no grade lower than a "C."
  • Complete all plan requirements.  
  • All major coursework, with the exception of EDF 200, must be completed within the six years prior to student teaching.
  • All candidates must demonstrate social and emotional maturity consistent with professional standards of classroom instruction as well as adequate physical health for teaching.

• AZ Teacher Certification Requirements
  
  In order to obtain an AZ teaching certificate, in addition to passing the appropriate AEPA Subject Knowledge Test, you must also pass the following exams:

  • AEPA Subject Knowledge Early Childhood Education (#36) Exam
  • AEPA Professional Knowledge - Early Childhood (#93) Exam. 

General Electives

• Additional coursework is required if, after you have met the previously described requirements, you have not yet completed a total of 120 units of credit.

  You may take these remaining courses from any of the academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. You may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren't used to meet major, minor, or liberal studies requirements.
  
  We encourage you to consult with your advisor to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you.

• Please note that you may take as an elective POS 220 (or POS 110 and POS 241), which satisfies the state and federal constitution requirement for Arizona certification, or you may meet the requirement by demonstrating proficiency on a special exam.

Additional Information

• Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.

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