Early Childhood

College of Applied Science and Technology

Expand your career potential in early childhood education. The BAS in Early Childhood (BAS EC) will prepare you to pursue a broad range of rewarding career paths critical to ensuring children's early intellectual and emotional development, without requiring a teacher certification. This may include working with a non-profit, opening your own home care center or working in a private preschool. 

Through this program, you will develop a deep understanding of how to best meet children's developmental and learning needs from birth through age 8. This includes understanding child development and early childhood developmental domains (cognition, social/emotional, language, self-help and motor/physical). You will learn to recognize early learning and development theories and apply developmentally appropriate practices.

Through hands-on experience, you will also have the opportunity to nurture core leadership, teaching, mentoring and coaching skills required for managing or directing early childhood centers. A 15-week internship requirement at the end of the program provides an engaging environment to demonstrate your professional skills, as well as complete a required three-week teacher action research project. Placement may include non-profit organizations, government agencies, schools, early childhood facilities, community services or a private business. 

This program curriculum has been aligned to Arizona Early Learning Standards, Arizona academic standards for K-3, and National Association for the Education of Young Children professional teaching standards.

Although the BAS EC opens many new opportunities in the field, this program is not intended to provide teacher certification. Students wishing to pursue teacher certification should explore the Elementary Education program with an Early Childhood Endorsement.

*Residents of some U.S. Territories may not be eligible. Please see our Eligibility & State Authorization page for more information.