Who is this degree for?
Designed especially for early childhood educators with at least three years of post-baccalaureate experience, Erikson’s online master of science degree in early childhood education helps you do what you love to do, and do it better.
Reach your potential as an educator without having to put your life inside the classroom on hold. This 28-month program gives you a deeper understanding of how children grow and learn and of the role their families, communities, and culture play in their development and success.
It’s a structured cohort program, so you’ll have peers to collaborate with and learn from. And it’s online, so you can work at home, in the office, in the early morning, or late at night — wherever and whenever you want.
But don’t just take our word for it. An independent evaluator found that our program is a model for online education.
Choose a specialization
Bilingual/ESL specialization
Take your study even deeper by adding a specialization in bilingual/English as a second language (ESL) education. Meet the needs of the increasing number of new language learners in a culturally, linguistically, and developmentally appropriate manner.
Is the online master’s right for you?
Want to learn more about Erikson’s online master’s in early childhood education? Wondering if online learning is a good fit for your lifestyle and learning style? These resources will help you decide.
- FAQ for the online master’s
- Advantages of online learning
- How online courses work
- Recommended skills for online learning
- Technical requirements
- Distance learning self-assessment
Course Work
Core child development courses
The core, a carefully sequenced set of six courses, lays the interdisciplinary foundation that sets Erikson graduates apart, whatever their field of practice.
Early childhood education courses
Four subsequent courses focus on classroom, curriculum, effective teaching, and assessment for prekindergarten through third grade.
Integrative seminar: Leadership in Early Childhood Education
A program-long integrative seminar ties the theories and ideas you’re learning in these classes to your individual practice.
Sample course schedule
Core Courses:
- C414 – Working with Adults: Collaboration and Supervision
- C421 – Human Development I: Psychosocial Development in Infancy and Childhood
- C425 – Physical Growth and Development
- C426 – Development of Cognition, Language, and Play I: Cognitive Development
- C427 – Development of Cognition, Language, and Play II: Language Development
- C432 – Family and Culture
- T430 – History of Schooling and Curriculum for Pre-K to Grade 3 Programs
- T431 – Key Concepts for the Pre-K to Grade 3 Curriculum: The Role of Content Knowledge in Teaching and Learning
- T432 – Advanced Methods of Teaching and Learning across the Pre-K to Grade 3 Curriculum
- T461 – Assessment for Classroom Teachers
- T470, T471 and T472 – Integrative Seminar: Leadership in Early Childhood Education I, II and III
- T480 and T481 – Integrative Seminar: Directed Action Research in Diverse Early Education Settings I and II
