Program Description

The Early Childhood Education Associate of Science Degree program prepares students to work with young children from birth to kindergarten. The Associate of Science degree in Early Childhood Development has been developed with the cooperation and support of Southern Oregon University (SOU). The degree is fully articulated with SOU’s Early Childhood Development (ECD) program and allows students to transfer directly as juniors and be able to begin the ECD coursework at SOU with no loss of credits to pursue a bachelor’s degree. Students completing the ECE Associate of Science degree will achieve Step 9 on the Oregon Registry Steps for the Oregon Center for Career Development in Childhood Care and Education.

Program Outcomes

Students who successfully complete the Associate of Science degree in Early Childhood Development will be able to:

1. Create healthy, respectful, supportive and challenging learning environments for young children based on knowledge of child development in context.
2. Create respectful, reciprocal, and supportive family teacher partnerships and community connections that support and empower family involvement in student development and learning.
3. Build effective and responsible assessment including observation, documentation and other appropriate tools in partnership with families and professional colleagues to promote positive outcomes for each child.
4. Implement an array of developmentally, culturally, and instructional strategies, and tools to connect with children and families and positively influence each child’s development and learning.
5. Build curriculum designed to promote and assess meaningful, challenging, and comprehensive developmental learning outcomes for each child.
6. Demonstrate professionalism as an early childhood educator with behavior reflective of ethical guidelines and professional practices associated with early childhood careers.

Career Considerations

Graduates of the ECE AS transfer degree program will learn specific skills and knowledge that are imperative in working with infants, toddlers, young children, and their families in a variety of early childhood education and care settings.

This degree is built specifically for students wanting to transfer to a four year university. Course work and practical work experience emphasize knowledge of the growth and development of young children, guidance skills, and curriculum planning that supports positive social/emotional, cognitive, mental, and physical development. These skills can be applied to multiple degree paths at four year universities. Our ECE AS transfer degree program focuses on seven crucial learning outcomes to help prepare students for courses and degrees in four year universities in a variety of career choices that work with young children and their families.

Program Course Requirements

Plan of Study Grid

First Year
First Term		Credits
ECE 140	Intro to Early Childhood Ed	3
ECE 230	Health Safety and Nutrition	3
FYE 100	College Success	2
HDFS 225	Child Development	3
HDFS 228	Exceptional Child	3
WR 121Z	Composition I 3	4
	Credits	18
Second Term
ECE 101	ECE-Sem-Prac I	3
ECE 154	Lit and Language for Children	3
HDFS 226	Infant-Toddler Development	3
HDFS 240	Contemporary American Family	3
PSY 130	Understanding Child Behavior	3
	Credits	15
Third Term
ECE 102	ECE-Sem-Prac II	3
ECE 150	Creative Activities for Child	3
ECE 178	Observing-Guiding Behavior	3
ECE 244	Indiv Learning-Preschoolers	3
WR 122Z	Composition II 3	4
	Credits	16
Fourth Term
ECE 235	Supporting Child Wellbeing	3
	Credits	3
Second Year
First Term
COM 218Z	Interpersonal Communication 3	4
HDFS 225	Child Development	3
MTH 211	Fundamentals-Elem Math I 4	4
SPAN 101	First Year Spanish I 5	4
	Credits	15
Second Term
ECE 103	ECE-SEM-Prac III	3
ECE 240	Lesson and Curriculum Planning	3
ECE 247	Admin of Child-Care Centers 2	3
MTH 212	Fundamentals-Elem Math II 4	4
SPAN 102	First Year Spanish II 5	4
	Credits	17
Third Term
ED 258	Culturally Responsive Ed 6	3
HPE 295	Wellness-Hlth Assess 5	3
PSY 201Z	Introduction to Psychology I	4
SPAN 103	First Year Spanish III 5	4
	Credits	14
	Total Minimum Credits	98

¹

Course offered in Summer 

²

Course only offered even years 

³

Students need to take WR 121z, WR 122z and COM 218z to fulfill SOUs Purposeful Learning Capacity requirement.

⁴

Students need to take both MTH 211 and MTH 212 to meet SOUs Numerical Literacy requirement. 

⁵

A minimum of 90 credits is needed to complete and AS degree at UCC. Students can take electives to fill any gap between program requirements and the 90 credit minimum. Meet with a UCC advisor to make the best course selection for your situation.

⁶

Fulfills the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion requirement at SOU. 

 

 

Entrance Requirements

• Enrollment in Oregon Central Background Registry
• Verification of MMR vaccinations
• Food Handler’s Certificate
  Contact the intended university of transfer to determine appropriate general education requirements for transfer. The UCC Associates Degree is designed to transfer seamlessly to Southern Oregon University.
• Students will need to complete either ECE 140 Intro to Early Childhood Ed (3 cr.), or HDFS 225 Child Development (3 cr.) with a grade of C or higher, before beginning practicum courses