The Departments of Child and Family Studies and Teacher Education offer a major in Early Childhood Education with certification for teaching in programs which serve children from birth through eight years of age (Pre-K through 3rd grade). Students preparing to teach a Pre-K early care and education program, Head Start, or a Kindergarten to 3rd grade classroom of a public school graduate with a major in Early Childhood Education. Early Childhood Education students meet the requirements of Elementary Education K-6 License Track with specialization in Early Childhood. They double major in both Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education and are eligible for receiving a second license to teach from kindergarten through 6th grade (K-6).
- Program Prerequisite: Students must have completed at least 36-38 credit hours of required prerequisite support courses and meet all other Teacher Education admission requirements. (See Department of Teacher Education in this catalog.)
- Minor: Not required. Early Childhood is the specialization.
- Grade Requirements: Early Childhood Education students must meet minimum major course grade requirements and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher in all college work. Early Childhood Education students take two groups of required courses: Early Childhood Education courses and Elementary Education Professional Education Courses (Teacher Education Levels). Students must receive a grade of B- or better in all required Early Childhood Education courses. A grade of “B-” or better is required in all Teacher Education Professional Education courses. If a grade in an Early Childhood Education course does not meet the minimum requirement for graduation, the student may retake the course once. If the student retakes a course, the student will receive the grade earned in the second course attempt. In special circumstances, by the judgment of the department chair, the student may petition to the Early Childhood/Early Childhood Education Committee, as appropriate, to graduate with the lower grade. Early Childhood Education majors must also achieve at least a “C” grade in MATH 2010 , MATH 2015 , and MATH 2020 .
- Credit Hour Requirements: A minimum of 120 credit hours is required for a bachelor’s degree; 109-111 of these are required within the major.
- Program Code: 5002BS
- CIPC: 131210
Advisement
Students must follow the Department of Child and Family Studies Advisement procedures. Contact the department advisor located in the McKay Education Building, Room 248 (801-626-6411). (Also refer to the Department Advisor Referral List.)
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Admission Requirements
Declare your program of study (see Program of Study (Major/Minor) Declaration ). Early Childhood Education majors must meet the Teacher Education admission and licensure requirements (see Department of Teacher Education ).
To be allowed to work with children in the Melba S. Lehner Children’s School for student teaching, students must have clearance of criminal background check approved by the Utah Department of Health, Child Care Licensing Program. Look for more information on the Weber State University Fingerprinting Office website (www.weber.edu/fingerprinting).
General Education
See Degree Requirements for Bachelor of Science requirements. The following courses required for the Early Childhood Education major will also satisfy general education requirements: COMM HU 1020 or COMM HU 2110 , GEOG SS/DV 1300 OR GEOG SS/DV 1520 , MATH QL 2020 , and CHF SS/DV 1500 .
Students pursuing a BS degree must take 9 credit hours, at least 3 credit hours from Life Sciences and at least 3 credit hours from Physical Sciences. One of the courses must be GEO PS 1350 (Principles of Earth Science), PHYS PS 1360 (Principles of Physical Science), BTNY LS 1370 (Principles of Life Science), or at least one science course with lab.
