Online Master's of Early Childhood Education (Non-Licensure)

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Online Master's of Early Childhood Education (Non-Licensure)

by Elizabeth

Jan 23, 2011

I'm working part-time in the ECE field at a home turned daycare and taking courses a semester at my local community college. I already have an Associate and Bachelor's degree in General Studies so the ECE and EDU courses are simply for professional development reasons and to help round out what I already have. I don't plan on formally applying for the A.A. or A.A.S. degree in ECE nor do I plan to go on and receieve a Bachelor's either.

I'd really like to pursue a Masster's of ECE (non- licensure) and have been looking into some online programs. I really like Walden University, but at $575 a credit hour with a $20 to $40 tuition hike this fall, I simply can't afford this EVEN if I wasn't in all the debt I was currently in. Granted, they have tuition payment plan options through Sallie Mae in which you can pay in installments, however, none of those options will make it affordable for me.

Does anyone know of a good online Master's program for ECE that's non-licensure, a...See More

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bamaprekpro On 1/23/11, Elizabeth wrote: > I'm working part-time in the ECE field at a home turned > daycare and taking courses a semester at my local community > college. I already have an Associate and Bachelor's degree > in General Studies so the ECE and EDU courses are simply > for professional development reasons and to help round out > ...See More

Jan 26, 2011

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Elizabeth On 1/26/11, bamaprekpro wrote: >> > Unless someone has given you alot of money, I would not > recommend you go for any of these online degrees. The only > one I have heard that might be useful is the Montessori > Method online degree. Please don't put yourself at risk by > taking out a giant student loan and then having to pay ...See MoreOn 1/26/11, bamaprekpro wrote: >> > Unless someone has given you alot of money, I would not > recommend you go for any of these online degrees. The only > one I have heard that might be useful is the Montessori > Method online degree. Please don't put yourself at risk by > taking out a giant student loan and then having to pay it all > back. Student loan debt can possibly ruin your life since > you can never ever get away from the debt. A bad credit > score could cause you so many problems. Why don't you just > go ahead and take the junior college courses to earn your > CDA? I believe that you simply take the 16 technical classes > in ECE plus a few academic classes? Your CDA will take you a > long way in the field of early childhood education. You could > work for Head Start or Early Head Start. Good luck!

Montessori teacher programs are VERY expensive, especially AMI certification programs. (A good Montessori teacher training program will run anywhere from $7,000 to $12,000.) Not quite sure how I'd really pay for it aside from taking out loans. There is financial assistance available in the form of scholarships from both the AMS and AMI, however, competition for these scholarships is quite competative. Besides, I've tried working in Montessori and found out that Montessori wasn't for me. Even if that wasn't the case, as much as I'd be paying for Montessori would be better spent, IMHO, on a traditional degree.

As for a CDA, I don't need that. Having my Associate's and Bachelor's degrees PLUS 25+ credit hours in ECE, EDU, and education-related courses means I've already met my CDA requirements. An Associate's degree is a step up from CDA and a Bachelor's degree is a couple of steps up from a CDA. Given that, I don't need a CDA.

My next step at this point is a non-licensure Master's degree in ECE and by acquiring one through a state university means it'll be cheap enough for me to obtain WITHOUT having to take any loans out. Thankfully, a lot of places like Mizzou, UND, Toldeo University, and Portland University are cheap enough at the in- state tuition rate that I'll be able to take something online and be able to afford it largely out of pocket, if not entirely.

Jan 27, 2011

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