Early Childhood Undergraduate Degree Program

The department offers three undergraduate degree options: BSED which leads to teacher licensure with an Early Childhood Endorsement, The Child Studies Option, and the Family Studies Option.  Chicago State University is an entitled institution through Gateways to Opportunity which provides credentials to candidates who complete the Licensure program option or the Child Studies Option.

Early Childhood BSED With Teacher Licensure Option

Completion of the Early Childhood Education Licensure program qualifies students for an Illinois Teaching License with an Endorsement in Early Childhood Education for grades Pre K-3, an ECE Credential Level 5, and the Infant Toddler Credential Level 2 through Gateways to Opportunity.

Certification requires successful completion of the state of Illinois Certification Examination in ICTS Test of Academic Proficiency (TAP), Early Childhood Content Area Test, and Assessment of  Professional Teaching.

BSED Early Childhood Education Licensure Program- 124 credit hours total General Education Courses (51 credit hours)
Composition (6cr hrs)
Discipline	Course Number	Credit Hours	Course Title	Field Hours	Prerequisite
ENG	1270	3	Composition I	None	University Exams
ENG	1280	3	Composition II	None	University Exams
Humanities (9cr hrs)
Discipline	Course Number	Credit Hours	Course Title	Field Hours	Prerequisite
CMAT	1130 or 2030	3	Oral Communication for professionals	None	None
ART	1100 or 2600	3	Art Appreciation	None	None
MUSIC	1134	3	Music Appreciation	None	None
Foreign Languages (6cr hrs)
Discipline	Course Number	Credit Hours	Course Title	Field Hours	Prerequisite
Foreign Lang Sequence	Level I	3	-	None	None
Foreign Lang Sequence	Level II	3	-	None	Foreign Language Sequence Level I
Natural Sciences (9cr hrs)
Discipline	Course Number	Credit Hours	Course Title	Field Hours	Prerequisite
BIO	1510	3	Concepts of Biol	None	15cr hrs
PH S	1100	3	Pract Physics I	w/ Lab	None
BIO	1080	3	Bio Science Survey II	w/ Lab	None
or PH S	1140	3	Pract Earth & Space Science I Lect	w/ Lab	None
Social Sciences (15cr hrs)
Discipline	Course Number	Credit Hours	Course Title	Field Hours	Prerequisite
HIST	1310	3	US History since1877	None	Reading Exam
POL SC	1010	3	American National Government	None	None
GEOG	1100	3	Globalization & Diversity	None	None
PSYC	1100	3	Intro PSYC	None	None
PSYC	*2040 *B grade or higher required	3	PSYC Childhood & Adol	None	PSYC 1100
Mathematics (6cr hrs)
Discipline	Course Number	Credit Hours	Course Title	Field Hours	Prerequisite
MATH	1010	3	Math for Elementary Teachers I	None	University Exam or Math 0990
MATH	1020	3	Math for Elementary Teachers II	None	Math 1010
Area of Concentration (9 credit hours)*Discipline must be discussed with an advisor
Discipline	Course Number	Credit Hours	Course Title	Field Hours	Prerequisite
*Course # 1	-	3	-	None	See Catalog
*Course # 2	-	3	-	None	See Catalog
*Course # 3	-	3	-	None	See Catalog
Professional Education Courses (39 credit hours)
Discipline	Course Number	Credit Hours	Course Title	Field Hours	Prerequisite
ED	1500	1	COE Seminar	None	University Exam
ED	1520	2	Introduction to Teaching	15hrs	University Exam
ED	4312	3	Educational Computing	None	ED 1500
READ	3700	3	Foundations in Reading Instruction	None	University Exam/ Read 1500
ECH	4000	3	Foundations for Instruction in Early Childhood Education	None	University Exam
ECH	4001	3	History and Philosophy of Early Childhood Education	None	ED 1520
ECH	4002	3	The Young Child	15hrs	PSYC 2040 *grade B or better required
ECH	4304	3	Infant/Toddler Development and Programming	None	PSYC 2040 *grade B or better required
ECH	4170	3	Nutrition, Health and Safety of the Young Child	None	PSYC 2040 *grade B or better required
ECH	4310	3	Literature for the young child	None	University Exam
ECH	4850	3	Screening, Assessment, and Evaluation of Young Children	See Syllabus	ECH 4002
S ED	4301	3	Characteristics of Exceptional Children	15hrs	PSYC 2040 *grade B or better required
ECH	4009	3	Speech & Language Development	None	ECH 4000, 4001, 4002 & 4850
ECH	4150	3	Child, Family  & Community Relationship	None	ECH 4000, 4001, 4002 & 4850
*Professional Education Methods Courses ( 25 credit hours) *Courses below may only be taken after you have passed the state Test of Academic Proficiency (T.A.P. Exam formerly known as the Basic Skills Test) Required of all teacher candidates. Candidates must apply and have been accepted into the College of Education
Discipline	Course Number	Credit Hours	Course Title	Field Hours	Prerequisite All require admission into COE
*S ED	4303	2	Teaching Students with Exceptional Needs	15cr hrs	S ED 4301
*ECH	4008	3	Creative Experiences in Early Childhood Education	None	ECH 4002/ ART/MUS
*ECH	4120	3	Reading and Language Arts for Young Children	None	ECH 4009
*ECH	4180	4	Methods of Instruction at the Pre-Primary Level	None	ECH 4002
*ECH	4319	4	Methods of Instruction at the Primary Level	None	ECH 4002
*ECH	4740	3	Field Practicum in Early Childhood Education	100hrs	Completion of a minimum of two of the following courses: ECH 4008, 4120, 4180, 4319
*ECH	4750	6	Student Teaching	400+	ECH 4740, COE Admit/GPA 2.5 cum, 3.0 professional courses

Early Childhood Child Studies Option

The Child Studies Option prepares students to work with children and families in a variety of non-public school early childhood settings such as social service and governmental agencies, parks and recreation departments, and private schools. Students prepare for a variety of leadership positions: practitioner in a child care setting, education and parent coordinator, program director, child abuse specialist, early childhood advocate and for agency positions such as state licensing representative with the  Illinois Department of Children and Family Services or Department of Human Services. Completion of the Child Studies Option program qualifies students for an BSED degree in Early Childhood Education and a Illinois Director Credential Level II, ECE Credential Level 5, Infant Toddler Credential Level 2

Early Childhood Family Studies Option

Completion of the Family Studies (Non-Teaching) Option provides candidates with a background in family functions and needs and prepares them for positions such as parent coordinator, family service provider in Head Start, child care and State-Funded Prekindergarten programs and for agency positions such as state licensing representative or children and family service intern with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services or Department of Human Services.