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A bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from MU will prepare you to work in educational settings with young children in civilian communities and on military installations. If you have a mobile lifestyle or live far from a college campus, but want to earn a degree in early childhood education, this may be the degree for you. This program does not provide basic teaching certification.
Top-ranked programs in two categories
Mizzou’s online bachelor's programs ranked among the nation’s finest in two U.S. News & World Report 2022 categories:
Quick facts
Official name
Bachelor of science in human development and family science with an emphasis in early childhood education in a mobile societyCampus
Program type
Bachelor's degreeAcademic home
College of Education & Human Development | Department of Human Development and Family ScienceDelivery mode
100% onlineAccreditation
Higher Learning CommissionFreshman credit hours
120Freshman estimated cost
$51,203.70Transfer credit hours
69Transfer estimated cost
$29,452.20*This cost is for illustrative purposes only. Your hours and costs will differ, depending on your transfer hours, your course choices and your academic progress. See more about tuition and financial aid.
Career prospects
This program will help you
- Understand young children's characteristics and needs, as well as the dynamics that influence their development and learning
- Create environments that are healthful, respectful, supportive and intellectually challenging for each child
- Understand how to create partnerships with children's families and other professionals in the community so as to nurture young children in developmentally appropriate ways
- Apply child observation, documentation and other forms of assessment to positively influence the development of each child
- Design, implement and evaluate educational settings that promote positive development and learning for young children across all of early childhood
Jobs may include
- Early childhood education centers or in-home programs
- Family childcare educators
- Infant/toddler specialists
- Head Start and Pre-K programs
- Childcare resource and referral agencies
- Early childhood program directors
- Before and after-school care programs
Program structure
This program is 100 percent online: no campus visits are required. You may meet your course work requirement with both semester-based and self-paced courses. Practicum courses are completed with face-to-face observation hours required. Practicums can be completed in your local community.
Courses are offered by multiple universities taking part in the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance. Depending on which university is teaching your course that semester, your courses may have different start and finish dates.
Core course work covers
- Assessment
- Child development
- Classroom environments
- Curriculum development
- Working with families
Note This program does not provide basic teaching certification.
Delivery
100% onlineGreat Plains IDEA
Great Plains IDEA is a consortium of 19 universities offering fully online graduate programs and courses in agriculture disciplines. Students apply to and are admitted by one university, enroll in all of their courses through that university and graduate from that university. However, the online courses are taught by faculty in the discipline from several universities.
Learn more about Great Plains IDEA.
Accreditation
The University of Missouri is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States.