Online Bachelor's Degree Completion for Early Childhood Education

Admission Requirements

• You must meet the UNC undergraduate admission requirements for the academic year for which you are applying. See the current admission requirements in the UNC Catalog.

• It is recommended but not required that you have 60 hours of transferable college credit or an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree.

• The Course of Study tab provides information about the major/PTEP, LAC and total credit hour requirements. The more completed coursework that you are able to transfer toward these requirements, the less coursework you will need in this completion program.

Prerequisite / Co-Requisite Courses

You can start this online UNC program any time if you have some college credit. But please note that the courses listed below will need to be completed outside of this online program. They are not required for admission, but will be required for program completion, and they are part of the foundational learning for upper level courses in our program.

You can choose to take just these courses (and perhaps some LAC coursework) outside of UNC, or you could choose to pursue a full Early Childhood associate degree as you prepare for entry to the UNC program. Speak with the program representative(s) listed on this page for support about what enrollment and transfer credit scenario will fit your needs.

The following required courses are not available online at UNC at this time, but are commonly offered either in-person or online at community colleges. Colorado community college course equivalents are noted.

• EDEC 101 Introduction to Early Childhood Education (3) [ECE 1011]
• EDEC 102 Introduction to Early Childhood Education Lab (3) [ECE 1045]
• EDEC 103 Guidance Strategies and Trauma Informed Practices for Children (3) [ECE1031]
• EDEC 104 Child Development in Context (3) [ECE 2381]
• EDEC 220 Curriculum Development: Methods and Techniques (3) [ECE 2621]
• ELIT 290 Survey of Culturally Diverse Literature for Children (3) [LIT 1015 or LIT 2055]

If you have been studying Early Childhood at another institution, you may have already taken many of these courses.

Eligibility by State

At this time, UNC can provide distance education to students from every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. UNC cannot provide distance education in American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

Certain distance education activities that occur outside of Colorado may have additional state approval processes or requirements. This most commonly occurs for experiential learning placement activities such as practica, internships, student teaching, and healthcare clinicals. Please review the State Authorization (SARA) page for additional information on UNC’s ability to offer distance education across state lines and a list of activities and states where approval may be required. For additional information or questions, please contact jake.henderson@unco.edu.

Licensure Eligibility by State

All UNC professional licensure programs are designed to lead to Colorado licensure. However, since each state has their own educational preparation requirements, UNC's programs may or may not meet these requirements in each state. For a complete list of states where UNC has determined that this program will or will not fulfill educational requirements for licensure, please visit the UNC Licensure page.

UNC encourages all students entering a professional licensure program to understand licensure requirements in the state where they intend to seek employment. Please review the State Licensure Boards page to find contact information for licensing agencies in each state.

International Student Eligibility

International students residing outside of the United States are eligible to apply to our online programs. Applicants for online programs must demonstrate English proficiency, or enroll in the UNC Intensive English Program, in order to be considered.

Students in completely online UNC programs are not required to come to the United States. You will not need a student visa or receive any immigration documentation, and do not need to provide financial documentation.

Please visit the International Students Admission Requirements page for details about English proficiency requirements and applying as an international student.

Student Teaching and Licensure Considerations for International Students

Students Wishing to Teach in the United States

UNC can not provide student Visa support for the practicum and student teaching portions of this program, and the Colorado teaching licensure related to this program requires that teaching experiences be completed in the U.S. However, if you are a non-U.S. citizen who will be in the U.S. via other Visa eligibility (such as via a U.S. work permit) during the teaching experience portion of the program, then this program will allow you to work toward U.S. licensure and you can complete your teaching experiences in an ECE setting in the U.S.

Students Wishing to Teach Outside of the United States

Students who are not eligible to come to the U.S. on a student visa for practicum and student teaching experiences can complete these experiences in a variety of international settings to meet the bachelor’s program requirements. Please work with the Program Coordinator before applying to determine if there are reasonable options for you for these experiences. Please note that these international teaching experiences will not lead to eligibility for Colorado teaching licensure.

Transferring Credit

Students are considered transfer students if they have completed any college-level coursework after completing high school. As part of your UNC application, you will need to submit official transcripts from all institutions attended.

Please visit the Transfer of Credits pages on the UNC Office of the Registrar website for information about:

• How many credits can transfer
• Requirements of credits transferred, such as your earned grade and institutional accreditation
• The transfer evaluation process
• Transferology – this service allows you to view our published course equivalencies for your previous courses. This can be done for free before you apply to UNC.
• For those students who have taken or are taking supporting courses at a Colorado public two-year institution, see the Transfer Articulation Guides.

Tuition

This is an Extended Campus program, which means:

• We charge a flat per-credit tuition rate for all students (in-state or out-of-state).
• There are no added student fees or technology fees. However, certain courses may carry specific course fees to support additional services and materials.

Program tuition for the 2024-25 academic year (which runs Fall, Spring, and Summer terms) is $444 per credit hour. Tuition for the 2025-26 academic year will be determined mid-June 2025.

Estimates of additional costs: For the purposes of determining financial aid, UNC follows Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) and federal guidelines to develop an estimated, average Cost of Attendance (budget) for different student classifications. For your personal tuition estimates, we recommend using the program-specific tuition information above. But UNC's official Cost of Attendance/Student Budgets page can help you identify other estimated expenses for which you may be responsible while completing your program.

Financial Aid

Degree-seeking students who cannot pay for tuition alone are encouraged to apply for federal financial aid. Students must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The UNC FAFSA/financial aid page for current undergraduate students has key dates and support, including the release date and deadline for each academic year (a Fall-Spring-Summer cycle which begins each August).

Late submissions of the FAFSA are still accepted throughout the school year but you may not be considered for the maximum amount of aid. If the priority deadline has passed for the upcoming/current school year, we encourage you to apply for FAFSA consideration as soon as you enroll for your first courses. Depending on the time of year, you may be able to submit an application for the current academic year and an early/priority application for the following academic year.

Bachelor's students must be enrolled in in a minimum of 6 credits per academic term for financial aid eligibility. Full time enrollment is based on 12 credits per term.

To apply for federal financial aid assistance

Fill out the FAFSA form at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa 

For more specific help, contact the Office of Financial Aid: ofa@unco.edu, 970-351-4862 or via the UNC Financial Aid website.

Students can also find helpful information such as the Guide to Federal Student Aid at https://studentaid.gov/resources. Most of the resources are available in English, Spanish and Braille.

If you are admitted to this program while completing an associate degree at a community college, please note that you will continue to file for your federal financial aid through that institution until you complete that program. If you are admitted to this program and only taking additional individual coursework at other institutions, you will coordinate your federal financial aid through UNC. Restrictions may apply. See consortium information.

Student Health Insurance

The University of Northern Colorado offers a Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) to all degree-seeking students who enroll in courses on our main UNC Campus, an Extended Campus Center, or Online.

Degree-seeking undergraduate students enrolled in 9 or more credit hours will automatically receive this benefit each term. SHIP premiums will appear on your semester bill. If you have comparable insurance coverage, and do not want to be charged for SHIP coverage, you must opt out of this plan each Fall via an online waiver process.

Please visit the UNC Student Health Insurance pages for more information about the insurance plan.