Early Childhood Education BS

A career in education can be immensely rewarding, offering the dedicated professional many opportunities to make a lifelong, positive impact on the lives of children and young people. Alfred University has a long tradition of preparing candidates of excellence for positions teaching in public and private schools in our region, and across the world.

Housed in the Division of Education is a major in Early Childhood/Childhood Education and minors in Adolescent, Visual Arts, and Business Education. Students enrolled in these programs receive an integrated blend of professional course work and field-based opportunities, and fulfill requirements for Initial Certification in New York State. Various Adolescent content certifications (Grades 7-12) are available including Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, English, Mathematics, Physics, Social Studies, and Spanish with an option to add Middle Childhood (Grades 5-9) certification with additional coursework and field experiences. Refer to the Graduate School Catalog for information on graduate programs offered by the Division of Education.

Successful completion of either the major or minor programs leads to initial certification as a New York State teacher (with reciprocity among 48 other states). 

Students who major in Early Childhood/Childhood Education receive an integrated blend of professional education methods coursework and field-based opportunities in area schools that enables them to apply theory to classroom situations. These field-based experiences expose students to a diversity of educational environments.

Students completing the program meet the academic requirements of the New York State Education Department for certification in Early Childhood (Birth - 2nd grade) and Childhood Education (1st - 6th grade). 

The Early Childhood/Childhood Education major requires coursework in the arts and sciences that is rich in breadth and depth, and fulfills requirements in basic competencies and areas of knowledge in the following subjects: artistic expression, communication, information retrieval, humanities, language other than English, written analysis and expression, concepts in history and social sciences, and scientific and mathematical processes. 

Academic Area of Concentration (or Second Major)

Students majoring in Early Childhood/Childhood Education must complete 30 credit hours in an academic area of concentration or fulfill the requirements of a second major. In either case, students select an academic area that is aligned with the current New York State Learning Standards. Possible concentration areas include Biology, Chemistry, English, Environmental Studies, Geology, History, Mathematics, Natural Science (Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Studies, Geology and Physics), Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Spanish. Coursework in the academic area of concentration must represent breadth (100-200 level courses) and depth (300-400 level courses) in the content area.

Continuing Enrollment Requirements 

Students may establish their major in Education upon admission to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Prerequisite courses should be completed during the first and second years at Alfred. At the beginning of their junior (3rd) year, students are reviewed for continued enrollment in the Early Childhood/Childhood Education Major. At this time, students must have declared Education as their major, met with their Education advisor to ensure that all prerequisites have been met, earned an overall 2.75 GPA, and achieved a 3.0 GPA in each of the prerequisite education courses (EDUC 230 and EDUC 231). Students must also successfully complete a Progress Interview with Education faculty members to proceed in the major. 

The practicum portion of the program starts in the spring semester of the student’s junior year, and includes field-based coursework in early childhood/childhood curriculum, orientation, methods of teaching literacy, and integrated methodology of social studies, math, science and technology. The required concurrent field experience takes place in area schools and is designed as an opportunity to blend theory with experiential application.

The following fall semester students are placed in area schools for the student teaching experience. Concurrent coursework in advanced literacy methodology, and classroom assessment and evaluation strategies during this semester are designed to assist students with instructional planning and to incorporate and to align instruction, curriculum, and assessment with the New York State Learning Standards. 

Students will need transportation to area school districts for both field placements (spring semester) and student teaching placements (fall semester). Students must earn a grade of C or higher in all Education and Special Education courses, as well as in all content core courses required for teacher certification.