Education Programs

Let our Bachelor's degree, Associate's degree, Diploma and Certificate programs help you make a lasting impression on children's lives.

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Choose Your Online Education Program

The online courses offered through our Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs provide the education and transferable skills, or soft skills, you need to help you get the career you want—utilizing your natural abilities to provide a positive environment for young children and their families.

Early Childhood Education

Fully Online

Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential Prep Classes

Training

Fully Online

Not Sure Which Early Childhood Education Program Is Right for You?

A good place to start is to ask yourself how you want your ECE courses to make a positive impact on children’s lives. All of our ECE degree program options prepare students to work with children from birth to preschool. If you’re interested in a leadership role, our Bachelor’s degree program will help you learn advanced practices and gain essential experience. You’ll have the choice to specialize in either ECE Leadership or Child Development in order to help grow young minds and lead the families and organizations that support them. Our ECE programs do not prepare students for licensed teaching positions in any public school setting, but students will have the opportunity to help shape the futures of young children from birth to age eight in a non-public school setting or leadership role.

At the Diploma and Associate’s degree levels, you also have the choice of two specializations. Choose the Child Development specialization and pursue your interest in the foundations of child growth and developmentally appropriate practices. Alternatively, choose the Special Needs specialization to follow your calling and learn how to support children with exceptional needs in a group child care setting. A Certificate or Diploma in ECE is an ideal choice for someone looking to take an initial step into this fulfilling field. Prospective students who hold a current CDA Credential may be eligible to waive or transfer up to 12 credits into this Early Childhood Education program.

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9 Signs You Would Excel as an Early Childhood Teacher

Maybe you grew up playing “school” with your siblings or friends. Maybe you’ve been told you’re good with kids and you would enjoy teaching.

You’ve wondered whether a career in education might be a good fit for you, but you’re not sure.

9 Signs You Would Excel in ECE

Flexible Learning Options

Flex Choice^® works to make your education more flexible and affordable—combining traditional online coursework, self-directed assessments and competency-based education (CBE)—the best of all worlds, so you can receive credit by demonstrating what you know and can do. We have saved students more than $5.6 million through self-directed assessments and also work to give adult learners more control over their time through CBE.2 We are a national leader in CBE, helping to advance this cutting-edge, faculty-led, project-based learning approach that prioritizes your learning over deadlines. CBE allows you to move quickly through topics you already understand and slow down with more challenging material—a perfect fit for the busy adult learner! You’ll have to be able to have the flexibility you need in your life for college.

Learn more about Flex Choice

About Us

An Early Childhood Education degree from Rasmussen University helps prepare you to make a positive and profound difference in the lives of young children and their families. Our curriculum was developed based on the national best practice standards established by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Since 1992, our curriculum has prepared students to impact the lives of children, gaining the knowledge and skills needed for success as an educator. In each credential, you’ll learn to promote the healthy development of a child’s physical, social, emotional, intellectual and language development.

"The fully online courses allowed me the flexibility to continue to work while still attending school."

Ny'nisha
Graduate, School of Education

The Early Childhood Education programs at Rasmussen University are not accredited by the NAEYC Commission on Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation. Rasmussen University is not a partner of NAEYC and our programs are not sponsored or endorsed by NAEYC.
Graduates of Early Childhood Education programs at Rasmussen University are not eligible for licensure as a teacher in an elementary or secondary school. A Bachelor’s degree and a state teaching license are typically required to work as a teacher in a public school and some private school settings. States, municipalities, districts or individual schools may have more stringent licensing requirements. Students must determine the licensure requirements in the state and school in which they intend to work.
Childcare facilities and the states in which they are located establish qualifications for staff who work with children and often implement guidelines regarding age, education, experience and professional development. Students must determine the licensure requirements for the state and facilities in which they work.
This program has not been approved by any state professional licensing body, and this program is not intended to lead to any state-issued professional license. For further information on professional licensing requirements, please contact the appropriate board or agency in your state of residence.
Savings calculated from students enrolled at Rasmussen University who utilized Flex Choice^® Credit by Assessment, which were offered for no additional charge when taken concurrently with traditional courses from May 2014 to January 2018. When completed, assessments reduced the number of traditional courses students were required to complete as part of their program. From the launch of Flex Choice Credit by Assessment in May 2014 through January 2018, 8,297 courses have been completed. Calculation: 8,297 courses x 3.2 credits per course = 26,550 credits. Cost per credit $250 x 26,550 credits = $6,637,500 in savings in the last four years. Since January 2017, we’ve been charging $99 per attempt 10,280 attempts since January 2017 x $99 = $1,017,720 in revenue. $6,637,500 savings - $1,017,720 revenue = $5,619,780 saved.