Early Care and Early Childhood, (Teacher Certification), Bachelor of Science
This program leads to a profession which requires an occupational license as defined under Texas Occupations Code 58.001 This requires that all applicants seeking to become licensed must undergo a criminal background check prior to licensure. Students in this program should check with the College of Education and P-16 Integration on the requirements for a criminal background check prior to student teaching.
To prepare highly skilled professionals to assume roles and positions in teaching, research, educational leadership, and human development to contribute to the educational achievement of all young children ages birth - 8 years in early childhood settings.
Core Curriculum Requirements – 42 Hours
The Core Curriculum serves as a broad foundation for the undergraduate degree. All candidates for a bachelor’s degree must achieve core student learning outcomes, including communication, critical thinking, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, personal responsibility and social responsibility, by completing courses within each category or component area of the Core Curriculum as outlined below.
The University has approved specific courses that satisfy Core Curriculum Requirements. Approved courses can be found on the Core Curriculum Page. Students seeking the most efficient way to complete the core curriculum and major or minor requirements are advised to take approved courses that can fulfill both requirements. Although core curriculum courses can also be used to fulfill major or minor requirements, earned credits hours are only applied once. The courses listed below fulfill core curriculum and major requirements. Students who have completed a core curriculum category with courses other than those listed below will still be required to take the listed course(s) to meet major requirements.
020 Mathematics – 3 hours
030 Life and Physical Sciences - 6 hours
Choose from:
Students may choose any 6 hours except
PSCI 1421 - Physical Science I &
PSCI 1422 - Physical Science II.
Major Requirements - 77 hours
Required Courses - 53 hours
Academic Content - 29 hours
Must apply for admission and be accepted to the College of Education and P-16 Integration for
EDSL 3310 and
SPED 4310.
Early Care and Early Childhood Studies Specialization - 24 hours
| ECED 3310 | Quality Programs for Infants & Toddlers | 3 |
| ECED 4312 | Administration of Child Development Centers | 3 |
| ECED 4314 | Dynamics of Play and Play Environments in Childhood | 3 |
| ECED 4315 | Linguistically-Diverse Early Childhood Students | 3 |
| ECED 4391 | Foundations of Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| ECED 4392 | Guidance of Young Children | 3 |
| ECED 4394 | Principles of Curriculum Design in Early Childhood | 3 |
| ECED 4395 | Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math for Young Children | 3 |
Teacher Certification - 24 Hours
Choose one:
Required
| EDCI 3332 | Designing and Implementing Instruction and Assessment | 3 |
| EDCI 3333 | Teaching Science to Elementary Students | 3 |
| EDCI 3334 | Teaching Mathematics to Elementary Students | 3 |
| EDCI 3335 | Teaching Social Studies to Elementary Students | 3 |
| EDCI 3336 | Teaching English Language Arts and Reading to Elementary Students | 3 |
| EDCI 4637 | Student Teaching for Elementary Teachers (EC-6) | 6 |
Free Electives – 1 Hour
Free elective credit hours at the advanced level may be needed to achieve the institutional minimum of 42 advanced hours.
Total Credit Hours: 42
Total Credit Hours: 120
Major Admissions Requirements
Admission requirements required for this program beyond university admission requirements.
For teacher certification, students must apply for admission and be accepted to the teacher preparation program prior to enrolling in teacher certification courses, except for EDFR 2301 which is open to all students. Admission requirements include:
1. Junior status (60 hours toward degree plan with teacher certification) and an overall GPA of 2.75 or higher. Sixty-hours of coursework includes core completion. Students must be core complete at time of admission. Elective courses are not included in the 60 hours.
2. Attain minimum passing score on one of the following exams (may mix and match):
- THEA: Reading -260, MATH 230, Writing 240
- ACT or ACT-R: Composite Score of 23
- SAT: 1070 (Verbal + Math)
- TSI: Reading 351, Math 350, 340-390 on TSI Writing Placement and minimum 4 on WritePlacer essay; or 310-339 on TSI Writing Placement and levels 4-6 on ABE Diagnostic and minimum 5 on WritePlacer Essay
3. (FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ONLY)
- As per Texas Administrative Code, Chapter §227.10(6)(b), an applicant to a university undergraduate program that leads to a bachelor's degree may satisfy the English language proficiency requirement by meeting the English language proficiency requirement of the accredited Institution of Higher Education (IHE) at which the applicant is enrolled,
- or students must take all four parts of the Test of English as a Foreign Language-Internet Bases Test (TOEFL-iBT) and obtain a minimum score of 24 for speaking, 22 for listening, 22 for reading, and 21 for writing. Exam is required for students that graduated from a Non-English speaking High School outside the United States.
4. Prerequisite Coursework and Grades:
Admission to the Teacher Education Program at the Office of Educator Preparation and Accountability is required for completion of teacher certification requirements with the undergraduate degree. All admission requirements are in accordance to Texas Administrative Code rules §227.10 and the HEA Title II accountability requirements. All applicants must meet the current certification requirements in effect at the time of application, regardless of the catalog year of degree plan.
Major Progression Requirements
Progression requirements required for this program.
For teacher certification, students must apply for admission and be accepted to the College of Education and P-16 Integration prior to enrolling in teacher certification courses and ECED major courses. In addition, a GPA of 2.75 is required for program progression.
Teacher Education Program progression requirements include GPA, course grades, certification courses, benchmarks/key assessments and testing.
Major Graduation Requirements
Specific graduation requirements required for this program beyond university bachelor’s degree requirements.
GPA of 2.75.