Program Type: Transfer Program

Program Total: 60-61Credits

Program Description

The Early Childhood Education Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree program provides students with the knowledge and skills to work with young children, ages birth-third grade. Students use learning and developmental theories to plan lessons with developmentally appropriate learning activities, suitable for a multicultural environment, as well as measure children's mastery of learning. Additionally, students learn how to work effectively with diverse families, children, parents, the community, and colleagues. Students also learn the skills needed for managing a child care facility. Finally, students also demonstrate dispositions and behaviors consistent with professional and ethical standards.

This program provides students with the educational requirements to teach preschool children in private early childhood centers and to direct early childhood centers in the state of Maryland.

Students in this program are required to submit to a criminal background check in order to participate in the required fieldwork courses. More information about the procedure, cost, timeline, etc. can be obtained through the Education Department Advisor.


Participation in the required fieldwork courses is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of the criminal background check. If a student is denied a fieldwork placement (which is required to complete the program) due to a background check result, the student will meet with his or her advisor to discuss options, which could include dropping the course and changing program of study.


Students must earn a grade of C or higher in all courses in this program.

Graduates of the Early Childhood Education A.A.S. will be able to:

  • Apply child development and learning theories when choosing developmentally appropriate practices and curriculum for specific and groups of children.
  • Write effective and developmentally appropriate lesson plans.
  • Differentiate lessons and activities for a variety of purposes and groups of children.
  • Discuss the skills needed to be an effective part of an educational team.
  • Demonstrate the skills necessary to direct a large group child care facility.
  • Discuss the skills necessary to effectively communicate with families and the community.
  • Plan, implement, assess and evaluate student learning outcomes for a variety of purposes.
  • Apply multicultural principles and strategies to the planning, instruction, pedagogical, and assessment processes in a classroom.
  • Demonstrate the dispositions and behaviors consistent with professional practice and ethical standards as outlined in the National Association for the Education for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC), and other current professional standards.

Note: All TED courses must be passed with a grade of C or higher.

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Required Courses

PAS-1000 First Year Experience Credits: 1 (Institutional Requirement) or

EGL-1010 Composition I: Expository Writing Credits: 3 (English General Education Requirement) or

TED-1100 Principles and Practices in Early Childhood Education Credits: 3 (Program Requirement; Critical Course) or

TED-1110 Professional Dispositions and Behaviors for Educational Settings Credits: 2 (Program Requirement; Critical Course) or

MAT-1130 Mathematical Ideas Credits: 3 (Mathematics General Education Elective) or

MAT-1050 Elements of Numbers and Operations Credits: 4 (Mathematics General Education Elective) or

NTR-1010 Introductory Nutrition Credits: 3 (Science No Lab General Education Elective) or

BIO-1110 Environmental Biology Credits: 3 (Science No Lab General Education Elective) or

PSC-1010 Introduction to Astronomy Credits: 3 (Science No Lab General Education Elective) or

TED-1200 Child Growth and Development Credits: 3 (Program Requirement; Critical Course) or

EGL-1020 Composition II: Writing About Literature Credits: 3 (English General Education Requirement) or

PSY-1010 General Psychology Credits: 3 (Social Science General Education Requirement) or

TED-1300 Methods and Materials in Early Childhood Education Credits: 3 (Program Requirement) or

TED-1400 Introduction to Multicultural Education Credits: 3 (Program Requirement) or

INT-1010 Introduction to Information Technology Credits: 3 (Computer Literacy Institutional Requirement) or

ART-2730 Integrated Arts Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

ACC-1000 Fundamentals of Accounting Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

BMT-1010 Introduction to Business Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

BMT-1570 Small Business Management Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

TED-2110 Infant and Toddler Curriculum and Teaching Credits: 3 (Program Requirement) or

TED-2200 Guiding Behavior in Educational Settings Credits: 3 (Program Requirement) or

TED-2350 Early Childhood Special Education Credits: 3 (Program Requirement) or

COM-1010 Foundations of Communication Credits: 3 (Arts/Humanities General Education Elective) or

COM-1090 Interpersonal Communication Credits: 3 (Arts/Humanities General Education Elective) or

GEO-1010 Physical Geography Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

HLE-1150 Personal and Community Health Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

EGL-2230 Childrens Literature Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

TED-1500 Safety, Health, and Nutrition in Early Childhood Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

TED-2100 Processes and Acquisition of Reading Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

TED-2400 Language Arts in Early Childhood Education Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

TED-2750 Field Work in Early Childhood Education Credits: 3 (Program Elective; Critical Course) or

TED-2751 Field Work in Early Childhood Special Education Credits: 3 (Program Elective; Critical Course) or

TED-2650 Child Care Center Administration and Management Credits: 3 (Program Requirement)

Transferability

Credit earned at any public institution in the state shall be transferable to any other institution if the:

  • Credit is from a college or university parallel course or program;
  • Grades in the block of courses transferred average 2.00 or higher; and
  • Acceptance of the credit is consistent with the policies of the receiving institution governing students following the same program. Refer to ARTSYS at artweb.usmd.edu and the receiving institution's catalog to select transferable courses.
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