Early Childhood Education

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FAQ

Yes! North Seattle College was the first in the state to offer a fully online Bachelor of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education. Students complete all assignments fully online in a largely “asynchronous” style. That said, we place high value on building a community of learners and as such we offer a quarterly event in-person (optional but encouraged to attend) and we also have multiple opportunities to connect with faculty and your advisor/manager via Zoom each week.

The program takes 2 or 3 years to complete in most cases. Whether a student needs two or three years depends mainly on these three variables: 1. The number of credits the student is able to transfer in from their previous college coursework, and 2. Whether the student wishes to attend part time (10 credits per quarter while in the cohort program) or full time (15 credits per quarter while in the cohort program), 3. If the student needs prerequisites in advance of the start of their cohort, which is typically the case for students who do not have an Associate in ECE.

Students are expected to take all courses through North Seattle College. If there are extenuating circumstances, students may request permission on a quarterly basis to take a general education or elective course at another college. Any student who has financial aid and chooses to take a course at another college will need to submit to the Office of Financial Aid a Consortium Agreement form in which the student requests to disburse their financial aid to another campus/college. The student must transfer the credits back to NSC once the grade has posted. All ECE B.A.S. courses must be taken through NSC.

North Seattle College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities to offer and confer two- and four-year degrees and has been awarded full accreditation status for the Early Childhood Education B.A.S. degree.

Students must apply to be admitted to the program and meet minimum admissions requirements. Meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admission, as the number of qualified applicants may exceed the number of available enrollment spaces. Keep in mind that while there is an application deadline, ours is a first come, first serve application process, meaning the earlier you apply, the better your chances for securing a seat in our fall cohort. Traditionally, we begin waitlisting in the summer, so the sooner the better. Click here to see when our next deadline is and to begin your application: seattlecolleges.edu/bas/earlychildhoodeducation.

You may begin working on prerequisites, general education, and elective credits in advance. However, if you already have an Associate Degree (or equivalent), we encourage you to apply before you begin so that you can have access to an advisor and become eligible for financial aid and other forms of tuition support and scholarship

Yes. B.A.S. programs require admitted students to follow a specific sequence of courses. Please refer to the Program Planning Sheet for more information.

As of Fall 2025, tuition costs approximately $2630 per quarter during your cohort (6 quarters). Some students will need additional quarters to complete 100/200 level general education courses which cost roughly half as much as cohort courses. Costs vary depending on how many credits you take and what level the credits are. Note that most students qualify for full or partial funding. For exact pricing, please refer to the tuition table found here: https://northseattle.edu/tuition-fees/tuition-rates  

Yes. Eligible students will receive financial aid specifically tailored to the B.A.S. programs, accounting for program length and higher tuition rates. Students should complete the FAFSA or WASFA and submit necessary data sheets to the financial aid office by the priority deadline for full financial aid consideration. Please visit the financial aid web pages for all financial aid application information.

Yes! The vast majority of students in our program have been successful in pursuing and receiving financial aid and/or scholarships to support their education. Many preschool providers have access to professional development funds or special scholarships for their employees. Please contact your employer to see if you qualify for funding through the Early Achievers program, the Seattle Preschool Program, or other forms of funding. Details on these scholarships and more can be found here: https://northseattle.edu/programs/early-childhood-education/financial-aid-scholarships As of winter 2018, we also offer $25,000 annually in scholarships through a grant from the Bainum Family Foundation, specifically for our program. North Seattle College also has scholarship opportunities for specific students.

The practicum is required and focuses on applied, hands-on learning while in the ECE B.A.S. program. All students are required to work or volunteer in a formal early learning or caregiving setting a minimum of 5 hours per week during the academic year. Students will be doing teaching demonstrations via video as part of their coursework, and as such, students are given information to request permission to take video from their site supervisor and the parents of any children who appear in the video. If a student does not have a work or volunteer placement, they may meet with the advisor/manager for help to set one up.

Please visit the Applied Learning: Practicum & Capstone page for more information.

No. The A.A.S.-T in ECE, and A.A.S. in ECE best prepare students to enter the program, but other associate degrees are also accepted. Students completing other associate degrees often have to take additional courses to meet prerequisite requirements. Students with significant work and professional development experience in the field may qualify for prior learning toward the satisfaction of prerequisites. Please contact Program Manager Annie Garret for more details.

You may be eligible to bypass the associate degree requirement and start the ECE B.A.S. program. You will still be required to complete the program course prerequisites before beginning. Please contact Program Manager Annie Garret for more information.

International students must first apply to the International Programs at North Seattle College. After acceptance, the student may apply to our ECE BAS program. If accepted to our program, the student applies for an I-20 Visa with the International Programs Office. The Visa must be submitted to the program manager before the student can be registered for BAS classes. The student must also set up Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorization by meeting with the IP Office to get the paperwork and go over CPT policy, find a practicum site (any early learning setting serving children in the age range of 0-8), meet with our Program Manager to complete the paperwork and submit the paperwork to the IP Office. CPT authorization must last the entire time that the upper division BAS courses are taken. International students must meet all requirements of the North Seattle College IP Office, such as they must take 12 credits per quarter and may not participate in our fully online program.

The Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S.) is a baccalaureate degree with a major in a technical area with substantial applied content. A B.A.S. degree incorporates and utilizes the credits from a previous associate degree, plus two more years of focused, applied, hands-on learning within the courses. We build on associate degrees and provide workplace skills in specific career areas.

Yes. B.A.S. graduates from other Washington state B.A.S. programs have attended and graduated from master’s degree programs across the state. North Seattle College has purposely worked with four-year universities to review the B.A.S. curriculum in order to give B.A.S. graduates master’s degree opportunities.

Student services such as financial aid, registration, tutoring, and disability services will be provided by North Seattle College. Most student services can be accessed online either by email or Zoom.  

Students must apply to be admitted to the program and meet minimum admissions requirements. Meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admission, as the number of qualified applicants may exceed the number of available enrollment spaces. Preference for admission for our Fall cohort is typically given to those who apply by March, but this can vary from year to year. Applications may be accepted on a rolling basis after that time. Click here to begin your application: seattlecolleges.edu/bas/earlychildhoodeducation.

Although our Bachelor’s Level courses in Early Childhood Education only begin in the fall, students may apply to the program, be admitted, and start working on their general education and/or elective credits sooner. This includes prerequisite credits. If you have an Associate Degree (or equivalent credits) already and wish to begin in this way, contact Annie Garrett, Program Manager, for an unofficial transcript review and personalized education planning assistance.

See this page for details on prerequisites. If in-person classes are not available or do not fit the student’s schedule, prospective students may work with the Program Manager to enroll in online courses through Washington Online.

The cohort structure means that all ECE B.A.S. students will be in the same peer group for all of their Bachelor’s Level courses in Early Childhood Education. This lasts for two academic years if you join the two year program, and three academic years if you join the three year program. Graduates say that the cohort model has been a key highlight of their experience, enabling them to have closer relationships, deeper discussions, and a broader professional network.

Our Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education consists of the statewide stackable certificates in Early Childhood Education, which are increasingly required of early childhood educators in many settings throughout the state and are overseen by the WA State Department of Education and Early Learning. However, the Bachelor’s degree does not prepare students for teacher licensure, which is overseen by the Office for the Superintendent of Public Instruction and is quite distinct from the statewide stackable certificates in Early Childhood Education. Teacher licensure is typically required only to teach at preschools that are run by and within public school systems. In the Seattle area, the vast majority of preschools are not operated by public school systems, and, therefore, do not require teacher licensure. However, an increasing number of preschools do require teachers to hold a bachelor’s degree in the field, and this degree meets that requirement. If your immediate goal is to work in the public K-3 setting or to work outside of Seattle in a preschool that is operated by a public school system, this degree may not be the best fit for you. If you want to work in preschools in the near future and may eventually wish to work in a public school, you have the option of earning our degree and later pursuing a Masters or post-baccalaureate teaching certificate that would lead you to licensure. Feel free to contact the program manager to discuss this in greater depth.

Please contact our Outreach & Admissions Specialist, Rebeccah Cosby, at rebeccah.cosby@seattlecolleges.edu 

The online and hybrid courses for this BAS program will require students to complete significant amounts of work online through our online Learning Management System Canvas. All students must have access to a computer and internet for this program. A range of laptop and desktop computers will meet the requirements for this program, but we recommend the computer has minimum specifications of:

  • RAM: 4 GB
  • Hard Drive: 160 GB hard drive or larger
  • Processor: 2.0 GHz Intel or AMD processor, 3.0GHZ recommend
  • Computer microphone and speakers
  • Web Camera

Students are also required to purchase a video camera with a strong microphone for their practicum. We recommend the Zoom Handy Video Recorder and typically have a limited number available for quarterly rent through the NSC Library. Scholarships such as Childcare Aware reimburse the cost of this camera and students with financial aid overage checks are asked to purchase the camera using those funds. 

Students often advance into higher level teaching roles upon completion of this program, as well as leadership and administrative roles. Quite a few students have successfully pursued coaching positions upon completion. Many students have gone on to pursue Masters degrees. Some students have pursued a Masters in Teaching following this program, which allows them to teach for public schools. Some have pursued a Masters in ECE or Higher Education which can qualify graduates for a variety of leadership roles, including teaching or advising at the college level. Others have opened their own childcare program. Some stay in their current roles and picked up side leadership projects such as becoming a state trainer, conference presenter, mentor, etc.