Bachelor of Applied Science, Early Childhood Education, BAS-ECE

The Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS), Early Childhood Education (ECE) degree provides candidates with specialized, professional preparation to teach young children birth through 3rd grade. The BAS builds on both the AAEC and the AAS in Early Childhood Studies to deepen teaching knowledge and prepares individuals as highly qualified early childhood educators.

Admission to the college does not guarantee admission to the BAS program. The BAS program requires demonstration of prior college success and the ability to work in the field of teaching and family services. Lower division (100 and 200 level) courses may be taken prior to program admission. Enrollment in upper division courses (300 and 400 level) requires program admission. 

Requirements:

To be admitted, students must meet the following criteria:

• An earned Associate Degree or higher from an accredited institution.
• An overall GPA of 2.0 or above on a 4.0 scale.
• A current Level I Fingerprint clearance card.
• Evidence of meeting course prerequisites if the earned Associate degree is from a college other than NPC or is not in Early Childhood Education. (example: a passing score on the Arizona Professional Knowledge - Early Childhood exam)

Selection Criteria

Priority admission will be given in the following order:

1. NPC graduates with an earned AA or AAS in Early Childhood.
2. Graduates with an Associate degree in Early Childhood from an institution with which NPC has an articulation agreement.
3. Graduates with Associate degrees or Bachelor’s degrees in any field.

The BAS in ECE includes two student teaching options:

1. Birth to PreK option: for those wanting to specialize in the birth to five age group and does not lead to teacher certification, 
2. K-3rd grade option: for those seeking early childhood teacher certification. 

The BAS in ECE with certification option is an Arizona Department of Education approved teacher preparation program. Students who choose the teacher certification option and complete all requirements are eligible to receive “Institutional Recommendation” (IR) from the college. Graduates then take their IR from the college, along with other required documentation, to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to apply for teacher certification. Using an IR to apply for teacher certification streamlines the process by eliminating the need for ADE to conduct course by course transcript reviews. The IR provides the graduate with the benefits of faster processing and reduced fees for the teacher certification application.