2013-2014

Early Childhood Education, Bachelor of Science in Education

Department of Teaching and Learning

College of Education

This degree prepares the next wave of early childhood educators—people who will dramatically shape and influence the lives of children. The program includes a firm grounding in curriculum development and teaching, as well as in a content concentration.

This program is nationally recognized by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

This program is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

This plan will not be available to new students after Summer 2019

  • 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
  • Be aware that you may not use courses with an ECI prefix to satisfy liberal studies 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, and professional dispositions are demonstrated through candidate performance on key assessments embedded in the following course(s):

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
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

    • 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)
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.