BA Early Childhood Education Non-Licensure Track

The Early Childhood Education (ECE) track in the Education and Human Development major has a strong focus on engaging Colorado's rapidly diversifying student and family population. It combines research with contextually relevant classroom experiences. You'll learn with innovative faculty members who are locally and nationally recognized for their research in early childhood education. Together with your peers and professors, you will critically explore the robust and evolving knowledge base relevant to the field of early care and learning as you engage with experiences that elevate your understanding of children's wonderings, culturally sustaining education, inclusive curricular and environmental design, and assessment and documentation of children's thinking and learning. Our program's history of deeply responsive community partnerships creates compelling and supportive opportunities for students to fully experience, and become inspired by, the daily life of educators in Colorado.

Community-based Early Childhood Education

The Community-based Early Childhood Education (ECE) track in the Education & Human Development BA focuses on the passion and commitment CU Denver students have to work in diverse community-based early childhood education settings supporting children ages birth-5 and their families. The program is designed for students who currently work in these settings or intend to become employed before they graduate within a community based early childhood context. A core principle of this pathway is accessibility of the BA for working early childhood professionals and those professionals with several years of prior experience in birth-five classrooms.

Program Features

The Community Based ECE BA is 120 credit hours. Unique features include:

• Courses are grounded in real-world ECE contexts and experiences with children and families in culturally, linguistically and racially diverse classroom settings.

• In-depth field-experiences throughout the program that take place in the ECE settings where you work. The intent is to make the program accessible for working early childhood professionals.

• If you are not currently employed, you can enroll in coursework and be placed in volunteer field experiences for the first two clinical field experience blocks (EDHD 1930 and ECED 2930). Students must be employed in an ECE birth-5 context by the time they enroll for EDHD 2930 (typically junior year) and for their final senior year of internships.

• Flexible transfer policies include the opportunity to bring in certificates and competencies that you have already achieved which can be assessed for credit to potentially replace courses within the program.

• High engagement with faculty who have deep experience in local community contexts while also recognized for their work regionally, nationally and internationally in early childhood.

• Opportunity to collaborate with a broader network of Early Childhood educators who serve as coaches and instructors in the program.

• Save money and time by opting into BA to MA (BAMA). In BAMA, three classes you take during your senior year double count towards both your bachelor’s and your master’s degrees and are billed at the undergraduate tuition rate.

Together with your peers and professors, you will critically explore the robust and evolving knowledge base relevant to the field of early care and learning as you take courses and work in ECE contexts that elevate your understanding of children's wonderings, culturally sustaining education, inclusive curricular and environmental design, and assessment and documentation of children's thinking and learning. Our program's history of deeply responsive community partnerships creates compelling and supportive opportunities for students to fully experience, and become inspired by, the daily life of Early Childhood educators in Colorado.

• This is an on-campus program with a variety of delivery options for many of our courses including hybrid, evening, weekend and online courses.

Declaring This Major

• Click here to go to information about declaring a major.