About Fisher

At Fisher College, we believe that college is more than just an education—it's a life-changing experience. For more than a century, Fisher has been changing lives by providing opportunities to students focused on the three most important aspects of a college experience: education, dedication, and life.

Early Childhood Education Certificate

The Early Childhood Certificate Program is designed as a first step in a preparing individuals to be competent professionals in a growing field. The Early Childhood Certificate Program provides students with the most current knowledge, skills, and to cultivate the dispositions that will enable them to become exemplary early childhood educators. Graduates will be ready for immediate entry into the ECE field or for transfer to our Early Childhood Associates in Arts Degree. The courses can be offered online, hybrid or as a cohort at an early childhood education agency. Our certificate offers the flexibility to design what your area of focus will be; infant and toddler, preschool, or family childcare.

Program Requirements

CS101 Computer Concepts and Applications

ED103 Introduction to Early Childhood Education

ED116 Health, Safety, and Nutrition for Young Children

ED204 Strategies for Children's Behavior

ED205 Children with Special Needs

ED223 Program Administration for Early Childhood

ED224 Supervision and Mentoring in Early Childhood Education

EN101 English I

PS103 Child Development

Education Elective¹

Total Credits: 30

¹ Students may take ED120 Infant/Toddler Curricula, or ED121 Preschool Curricula.

Gainful Employment Disclosure

Fisher College has adopted early rescission of the Gainful Employment regulations (2014 Rule) as made available via the Department of Education’s June 28, 2019 Electronic Announcement. This includes early rescission of section 482 (c) of the HEA with regulatory changes to subpart Q and subpart R of the Student Assistance General Provisions at Title 34 part 668 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Fisher College has removed Gainful Employment disclosure templates from all materials and will not be distributing templates to prospective students. In addition, Fisher College will not provide Gainful Employment data for the 2018-2019 award year.

Licensure requirements for Early Childhood Centers by state

Fisher Colleges Early Education and Care Program is designed to meet certification for early childhood education (birth -5) in all 50 states, but is not a public school licensure program. Fisher College has not made a determination whether this program meets Pre K - 12th grade licensure. Students seeking professional licensure should contact the appropriate Department of Education licensing board in that state to verify licensure requirements.

Professional Certification

The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) provides 6 types of professional certifications in the state of Massachusetts.

Infant/toddler Teacher
Infant/toddler Lead Teacher
Preschool Teacher
Preschool Lead Teacher
Director I
Director II

Upon completion of the Early Childhood Certificate, students will have satisfied the educational requirements for all levels of certification within the age group chosen.

Take the Next Step

Apply Now

Request Info

Program Snapshot

Credits: 30

Learning Format: Online

Term Length: 8-weeks

Typical Time to Completion*:

5 terms; 10 months

Additional Information

*Based on continuous enrollment of two courses every term. Time to completion may be shorter based on eligible transfer credit or longer if course enrollment varies