Early Childhood Education
UPDATE 06/15/2012: Please note, all of our undergraduate advising guides have been updated to reflect the changes to General Studies for students who are new to MSU Denver beginning Fall 2012. These guides can still be used if you are under the 2011 catalog or earlier, but please pay attention to the added notes on the guides if you are under the Fall 2012 catalog. To determine your catalog year, visit the Finding Your Catalog Year help page.
A licensure endorsement in Early Childhood Education (ECE) will qualify you to teach pre-kindergarten through third grade in public schools in the State of Colorado.
Undergraduate ECE Program
Undergraduate students interested in ECE must select one of three approved majors for the program. While you do have a choice, we strongly recommend that you major in Human Development, was created to best serve Early Childhood and Elementary Educators. The major choices are as follows:
Human Development (Advising Guide) (
196 KB) (updated 05-24-10)
Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences (Advising Guide) ( 199 KB)
Advising guides for the three approved majors for ECE are available to download by clicking the links above, as well as an Overview of the Early Childhood Program ( 138 KB) . Please schedule an appointment with an advisor in ECE and in the major you are interested in before registering for any classes. See the Advising section of our website for more information on scheduling an appointment. Refer to the Undergraduate/Transfer Students section of our site for links to the individual major department websites.
Post-Baccalaureate ECE Program
Post-baccalaureate students can also complete a Licensure program in ECE. As long as your bachelor’s degree is from an accredited college or university, we do not require your degree to be in a specific content area. All of the skills you will need to be an Early Childhood educator will be taught to you in the courses required in our ECE program.
Early Childhood Education – Post-Baccalaureate Program Plan ( 120 KB)
Minor Only in ECE
Also, for those who wish to complete a minor in Early Childhood Education without becoming licensed to teach, the courses on the following guide will satisfy the requirements for a minor. Keep in mind, you must still attend an Application Meeting and become at least provisionally admitted to the program to complete most of the courses for the minor.
Early Childhood Education - Minor Only (without Licensure) ( 29 KB)
Dual Endorsement in ECE/Elementary
Some students may wish to earn dual licensure in Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education. The following program plan shows the additional required courses to earn this dual licensure through MSU Denver's Teacher Education Program. Be sure to discuss this with your ECE advisor before taking the classes.
Early Chidlhood Education - Dual Endorsement in Elementary Education ( 34 KB)
