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online bsed degree

Bachelor of Science in Education/Early Childhood Education

Start your online education degree

A great teacher can mean the difference between giving a student a jump-start or playing catchup. Our Bachelor of Science in Education/Early Childhood Education, an initial licensure program, teaches you skills to give children from birth through age 8 or grade 3 the best possible chance of success in school — and beyond. You won’t be in this alone.

Our program support specialist can help you navigate teacher licensure and credentialing requirements. We’ll also help you with school placements for your clinical experience and clinical practice through our close partnerships with hundreds of school districts nationwide. And you can waive up to 21 credits toward your degree if you’ve earned your Child Development Associate (CDA) credential.

Transfer credits

Save time and money on your bachelor's degree with eligible transfer credits.

Ways to save

Your work, life, and school experiences may give you a head start on your degree.

Apply free

No application fee
No SAT/ACT
No essay required

Ignite Your Passion

Start when you're ready

Courses

Browse courses for your online education degree

Education should hold practical value. That’s why our courses meet rigorous academic standards and provide you with skills and knowledge immediately applicable to your career.

Skills-aligned program icon

Look for this icon to see which skills you’ll learn in a course.

Requirements: 120 credits

You’ll need 120 credits to complete this Bachelor of Science in Education/Early Childhood Education program. Your course schedule may vary based on transferable credits.

19 Core Courses

Here’s where you’ll pick up the bulk of your program-specific knowledge. By the time you finish these courses, you should have the confidence and skills needed in this field.

19 Core Courses

19 Gen Ed Courses

These courses lay the foundation for all our degree programs. Because communication, math and writing skills aren’t just universally applicable in education — they’re useful in daily life.

19 Gen Ed Courses

1 Elective Course

Elective courses allow you to learn about topics you’re interested in. That means you’ll have a degree that’s unique to you and your education goals.

1 Elective Course

2 Clinical Practice/Student Teaching Courses

During your clinical practice experience — one of the final steps to complete your degree — you’ll complete a student teaching experience where you will apply your instruction and classroom management skills full time. Working under the supervision of a teacher and a University of Phoenix faculty supervisor, you’ll develop lesson plans, teach, work with diverse student populations and incorporate technology into the classroom.

2 Clinical Practice/Student Teaching Courses

Schedule

Your academic counselor will help you schedule your classes.

Plus, you’ll find support from our dedicated education program specialists who work with you 1:1 during your 100 required hours of clinical experience (or more if required by your state) and a minimum of 12 weeks of clinical practice (or more if required by your state). Our education program specialists also help you navigate your state licensure requirements for teacher certification, and can help with questions along the way.

COE Central

College of Education students will find many helpful resources on COE Central. Program handbooks provide a wealth of information on topics such as professional expectations, clinical experiences, clinical practice, internships, edTPA and much more. Milestone roadmaps, technology and multimedia resources, and various toolkits are also available.

Program Purpose Statement

The Bachelor of Science in Education/Early Childhood is an undergraduate degree program intended to prepare students with no prior teaching experience for initial teacher licensure. The program is designed for students who want to become early childhood education teachers. The program includes a clinical component requiring field experiences and student teaching above and beyond program coursework. Requirements for licensure vary by state; please see your state's requirements. There may be additional qualifications and/or disqualifications applicable in order to work as a teacher with any local, state or federal entity.

Skills-aligned program icon

Earn career-relevant skills in weeks – not years.

Learning shouldn’t take years to put into practice. That’s why we’re empowering you to build career-relevant skills with every five- to six-week course.

We’ve worked with the labor market researcher Lightcast to identify in-demand skills for occupations and mapped those to our related associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.

Tuition

Paying for school

Tuition is based on number of credit hours per course. Courses are typically 3 credits, but can range from 1-6 credits. Costs do not include savings opportunities like transfer credits and scholarships.

Tuition Guarantee

Undergrad cost per course

$1,364 / course

Cost per credit 

Credits per course

Resource fee

$398

x3

+ $170

Estimated cost per course

$1,364

An illustration showing a couple pushing a stroller with a dollar sign and clock in the background

What affects the overall cost of my program?

Your full program cost can vary by: 

  • Savings opportunities. Your cost could be reduced with eligible transfer credits, scholarships, employer discounts and more. Students with eligible credits and relevant experience on average saved $11K and 1 year off their undergraduate degree at University of Phoenix.

With our Tuition Guarantee, you pay one flat, affordable rate from the moment you enroll to the day you graduate from your program.

Discover ways to save time and money on your degree with our Savings Explorer® tool:

Transfer credits

Your prior eligible college credits can save you time and money, helping you graduate faster. That’s why we’ve accepted credits from 5,000+ institutions. Check to see if you can apply eligible transfer credits from an institutionally accredited university or college toward a degree of your choice.

Save time and money when you transfer in eligible credits toward your degree.

University of Phoenix Education degree vs other universities

Phoenix ASU Online (BAB) Capella DeVry GCU Purdue Global SNHU Strayer
Cost per credit
Cost per credit
Cost per credit
$398
Cost per credit
$563
Cost per credit
$365/415[1]
Cost per credit
$514
Cost per credit
$485
Cost per credit
$371
Cost per credit
$330
Cost per credit
$338.89
Credits per course
Credits per course
Credits per course
3
Credits per course
3
Credits per course
3-6
Credits per course
2-4
Credits per course
4
Credits per course
5-6
Credits per course
3
Credits per course
4.5
Tuition per course
Tuition per course
Tuition per course
$1,194
Tuition per course
$1,698
Tuition per course
$1,095-
$2,490
Tuition per course
$1,028-
$2,056
Tuition per course
$1,940
Tuition per course
$1,855-
$2,226
Tuition per course
$990
Tuition per course
$1,525
Total program length in credits
Total program length in credits
Total program length in credits
120
Total program length in credits
120
Total program length in credits
180
Total program length in credits
124
Total program length in credits
120
Total program length in credits
180
Total program length in credits
120
Total program length in credits
180
Length of course in weeks
Length of course in weeks
Length of course in weeks
5
Length of course in weeks
7.5
Length of course in weeks
10
Length of course in weeks
8
Length of course in weeks
7-8
Length of course in weeks
10
Length of course in weeks
8
Length of course in weeks
11
Fees
Fees
Fees
One fee per course
Fees
Multiple fees
Fees
Multiple fees
Fees
Multiple fees
Fees
Multiple fees
Fees
Multiple fees
Fees
Multiple fees
Fees
Multiple fees
Tuition guarantee
Tuition guarantee
Tuition guarantee
YES
Tuition guarantee
NO
Tuition guarantee
NO
Tuition guarantee
NO
Tuition guarantee
NO
Tuition guarantee
NO
Tuition guarantee
NO
Tuition guarantee
NO

Data pulled on June 13, 2024

[1] $365 per 1000-2000 level credit; $415 per 3000-4000 level credit

Source of data: For each institution, the data are publicly available in multiple locations, including Academic Catalogs, Program pages, Tuition and fees pages, and syllabi. All data are publicly available on the websites. 

Certain licensure programs and coursework in other degree programs may have additional fees. Please check with your advisor or course catalog for additional info.

The Savings Explorer tool can help you find ways to save on your education

Try our Savings Explorer® tool

Eligible students saved:

$11,000 & 1 year

Students with eligible credits and relevant experience on average saved $11k and 1 year off their undergraduate degree with University of Phoenix.

Try our Savings Explorer™ tool

Eligible students saved:

$11,000 & 1 year

Students with eligible credits and relevant experience on average saved $11k and 1 year off their undergraduate degree with University of Phoenix.

Financial aid

You may have options when it comes to paying for college tuition and expenses, such as federal grants and loans. Our finance advisors can answer your questions about financial aid and can help guide you through the process.

Federal Student Loan Basics

Careers & Outcomes

What can you do with an online education degree?

Discover where your degree might take you and make informed choices about your future.

This BS in Education can prepare you to be an:

  • Early childhood teacher
  • Preschool teacher

Top skills learned in this program:

  • Student Engagement

  • Curriculum Planning

  • Early Childhood Education

  • Differentiated Instruction

  • Reflective Teaching Practice

  • Instructional Practice

  • Professionalism

  • Ethical Practice

  • Learner Development

  • Innovation

Ready to get started?

Start your application for free or request additional information.

What you’ll learn

When you earn your Bachelor of Science in Education/Early Childhood Education you’ll be equipped with a concrete set of skills you can apply on the job. You’ll learn how to:

  • Design and implement effective instruction in the early childhood classroom to produce a positive impact on student learning.
  • Evaluate effective professional practice in early childhood education.
  • Apply professional ethics to their instructional practices in early childhood education.
  • Evaluate learning principles to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of diverse early childhood populations.
  • Create innovative strategies that incorporate developmentally appropriate technology in an early childhood setting.

1% Growth

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth for kindergarten and elementary school teachers is projected to be as fast as average between 2022 and 2032.

The BLS Projected Growth for 2022-2032 is published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This data reflects the BLS’ projections of national (not local) conditions. These data points are not specific to University of Phoenix students or graduates.

Admissions

Apply for free – no application fee, no obligation.

Starting your degree is a big decision — and we want you to feel great about it. That’s why we remove obstacles from your application.

  • No SAT/ACT required 
  • No essay required 
  • No cost, risk-free trial for eligible students
  • We’ll request transcripts at no cost to you, when possible, and we accept eligible credits from over 5,000 accredited institutions.

Receive 1-on-1 support

You have a support team of real people you can lean on. And our academic counselors, who are with you every step of the way, have earned a 5-star rating from 90% of our surveyed students.[1] Start a conversation with an enrollment representative today.

[1] Transactional Survey, August 2021-22 (18,645 respondents)

Gabriel G., Enrollment Representative

Call or chat with us 7 days a week.

G. Galindo - Enrollment Representative

Gabriel G., Enrollment Rep

Receive 1-on-1 support

You have a support team of real people you can lean on. And our academic counselors, who are with you every step of the way, have earned a 5-star rating from 85% of our surveyed students.[1]

[1] Transactional Survey, September 2022-August 2023 (23,739 respondents)

Start a conversation with an enrollment representative today.

Call us at 844-937-8679 or chat with us 7 days a week.

Student Experience

An education that fits your busy life

Balancing family, work and school

Work toward your degree without giving up what matters most. Start your degree year-round and take one class at a time.

Online learning

Enroll in online classes and attend class whenever it fits your life, day or night.

Around-the-clock support and resources

You have a support team available up to 14 hours a day, 5 days a week. 

Computer requirements for courses

Many course assignments will require you to use a computer to complete and submit your assignment. 

Student completing homework at night while child plays on floor.

Faculty Spotlight

Professionals dedicated to you

Your success is a top priority for our deans and faculty members. They bring an average of 29+ years of experience and hands-on perspective to the classroom, and help bridge the gap between academics and industry knowledge.

Donna Lange

From the very beginning, I always try to make students feel comfortable and connect with them.

Donna Lange
Faculty of the Year 2020, College of Education

From the very beginning, I always try to make students feel comfortable and connect with them.

Accreditation

Accredited for 45+ years

Since 1978, University of Phoenix has maintained institutional accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), hlcommission.org. Learn more about the value of University of Phoenix accreditation and how it benefits our students.

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The following program educationally prepares students to apply for initial teacher certification in select states:

Bachelor of Science in Education/ Early Childhood Education (BSEd/ECH)

Educator/Principal licensure requirements vary by state. Candidates located in a state that does not provide a direct path to licensure will be required to obtain Arizona certification first, prior to seeking licensure in their home state as an out-of-state prepared teacher/principal candidate. Arizona certification requires candidates to pass all Arizona-specific licensure requirements, including any Arizona-specific exams (or home state equivalents if recognized by Arizona Department of Education.) After obtaining an Arizona teacher/principal certificate, candidates can then apply for licensure in their home state and may be required to complete additional testing and/or requirements at additional cost. Program requirements may change based upon your home state’s agency licensure requirements. Please visit the teacher licensure page or the principal licensure page for state specific requirements prior to reaching out to your state agency.

While widely available, not all programs are available to residents of all states. Please check with a University Enrollment Representative.