Early Childhood Education P-3 Major

The Early Childhood Education P-3 major is designed for students who wish to become licensed to teach preschool through grade 3.  Coursework and field experience provide multiple opportunities for applied understanding of children's growth and development, building family and community relationships, conducting observations and assessments, understanding developmentally appropriate practices, implementing curriculum, and promoting the well-being of young children and their families. 

Students must receive a grade of "C" or higher in all required courses, and must be admitted into the Teacher Education Program prior to taking their upper division methods and practicum coursework.

Upon completion of the degree, students are eligible for licensure in the state of Montana.  For more information on admission to the Teacher Education Program, student teaching, licensure, professional expectations, and more, please see the Teacher Education Program section of this catalog.

Freshman YearCredits
FallSpring
EDEC 160 - Early Childhood Development3  
EDU 101US - Teaching and Learning3  
M 132 - Numbers & Operations for K-8 Teachers3  
WRIT 101W - College Writing I3  
Choose one of the following:3  
NASX 105D - Introduction to Native American Studies
or NASX 205D - Native Americans in Contemporary Society
or NASX 232D - MT Indians: Cultures, Histories, Current Issues
EDU 222IS - Educ Psych & Child Development  3
Choose one of the following:  4
HSTA 101IH - American History I
or HSTA 102IH - American History II
or HSTR 101IH - Western Civilization I
or HSTR 105IH - Making Our World-Ten Events
M 133Q - Geometry & Measure K-8 Teachers  3
Choose one of the following:  3
AMST 101D - Introduction to American Studies
or AMST 201IH - American Identity, American Dreams
or ANTY 101D - Anthropology and the Human Experience
or GPHY 121D - Human Geography
or GPHY 141D - Geography of World Regions
or SOCI 101IS - Introduction to Sociology
Approved IN Core (Physical, Life, or Earth Science)  3
Year Total: 15 16
Sophomore YearCredits
FallSpring
EDEC 108 - Introduction to Early Childhood Education2  
EDEC 288 - Signing for Early Childhood Educators3  
EDU 263 - Teaching Grammar Through Writing3  
EDU 370 - Integrating Tech into Educ3  
HDFS 263 - Relationships and Fam Systems3  
NUTR 221CS - Basic Human Nutrition3  
EDEC 253 - Nutrition & Physical Activity in Early Childhood  3
EDU 204IA - Arts & Lifelong Learning  3
EDU 211D - Multicultural Education  3
Approved STEM Elective  3
University Core and Electives  3
Year Total: 17 15
Junior YearCredits
FallSpring
EDEC 350 - Play and Learning in Early Childhood3  
EDSP 306 - Exceptional Learners3  
EDU 382 - Assessmt, Curric, Instructn3  
HDFS 371 - Research Methods in HHD3  
Electives2  
EDEC 385 - Integrated Curriculum Early Childhood Education  3
EDEC 450 - Literacy in the EC Classroom  3
EDEC 455 - P-3 English Language Arts and Social Studies  3
EDP 301 - Practicum I: K-8  3
EDU 330 - Emergent Literacy  3
Year Total: 14 15
Senior YearCredits
FallSpring
EDEC 430 - Social and Emotional Development in the Young Child3  
EDEC 453 - P-3 Steam3  
EDP 302 - Practicum II: K-83  
EDSP 458 - Assessment and Intervention4  
EDU 438 - Ltrcy Asmnt, Diagnos and Instr3  
EDU 495R - Student Teaching  12
Year Total: 16 12
Total Program Credits: 120


Approved IN Core Courses

BIOB 100INOrganism Function3
BIOM 103INUnseen Universe: Microbes3
ERTH 101INEarth System Sciences4
ERTH 212RNYellowstone: Scientific Lab4
GEO 105INOceanography3
GEO 111INDinosaurs3
GEO 140INPlanetary Geoscience3
PHSX 103INThe Physics of How Things Work3
PHSX 201INPhysics by Inquiry3


Approved STEM Electives

ASTR 110INIntroduction to Astronomy: Mysteries of the Sky3
BIOB 160Principles of Living Systems4
BIOB 170INPrinciples of Biological Diversity4
BIOE 103CSEnvironmental Science and Society3
BIOM 103INUnseen Universe: Microbes3
CHMY 102CSApplying Chemistry to Society3
CHMY 121IN
CHMY 122IN
Introduction to General Chemistry
and Introduction to General Chemistry Lab
3
CHMY 141
CHMY 142
College Chemistry I
and College Chemistry I Lab
4
ECHM 205CSEnergy and Sustainability3
EELE 101Introduction to Electrical Fundamentals3
EGEN 105Introduction to General Engineering2
EGEN 125CSTech, Innovation, and Society3
ERTH 101INEarth System Sciences4
ERTH 212RNYellowstone: Scientific Lab4
GEO 103CSIntro to Envrmntl Geology4
M 105QContemporary Mathematics 3
M 121QCollege Algebra3
M 151QPrecalculus4
M 161QSurvey of Calculus4
M 171QCalculus I4
M 420Geometry, Measurement, and Data in the Middle Grades3
M 424Algebraic Thinking and Number Sense in the Middle Grades3
NRSM 101Natural Resource Conservation3
PHSX 103INThe Physics of How Things Work3
PHSX 201INPhysics by Inquiry3
PHSX 205College Physics I4
PHSX 207College Physics II4
STAT 216QIntroduction to Statistics3
STAT 217Intermediate Statistical Concepts3
STAT 337Intermediate Statistics with Introduction to Statistical Computing3
TE 207Materials and Processes4
TE 250CSTechnology and Society3