Early Childhood Education Certificate
About the 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
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. See list of licensure requirements for Early Childhood Centers by state.
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.
Early Childhood Education Career Track
Certificate recipients may pursue a career in any a vast variety of childcare centers. The following list is just an example of some of the opportunities our students have pursued. Many of Fisher's ECE interns receive job offers from one or both of their Practicums. For those who choose to continue their education, the internships provide invaluable experience to help students succeed in a baccalaureate program.
- Early Intervention Specialist
- Early Childhood Educator
- Early Childhood Education Director
- Assistant Teacher
- Teacher
- Head Teacher
- Director
- Nanny
Program Snapshot
Credits: 30
Learning Format: Online
Term Length: 8-weeks
Typical Time to Completion*:
5 terms; 10 months
*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