Early Childhood Studies

Inspire Young Minds and Shape the Future

Do you love working with children and helping them learn new things? If you want to serve your community and make a lasting impact, Allan Hancock College’s Early Childhood Studies (ECS) program is the perfect place to begin.

Our ECS program prepares skilled, compassionate professionals to support children and families in a variety of settings—including infant, toddler, preschool, transitional kindergarten, family child-care, and special education programs.

With a transfer degree and five local degree and certificate pathways, you can start working with children after completing just 12 units. The program also opens doors to careers in education, social work, counseling, psychology, and more.

You’ll learn to:

Understand and apply child development principles
Create engaging, inclusive learning environments
Build strong family and community partnerships
Design meaningful curriculum and activities for young learners

Degrees and Certificates Offered

Each program has unique requirements. The order in which you take courses may affect your completion time. Visit the links below to view the program requirements and a general semester-by-semester course schedule.

Associate in Science for Transfer- Early Childhood Education

Associate in Science- ECS: General

Certificate of Achievement- ECS: General

ASSOCIATE IN SCIENCE- ECS: ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT- ECS: ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

Associate in Science- ECS: Elementary Education in Diversity Studies

Certificate of Achievement- ECS: Elementary Education in Diversity Studies

Associate in Science- ECS: Special Education

Certificate of Achievement- ECS: Special Education

Associate in Science- ECS: Program Director/Administration Emphasis

Certificate of Achievement- ECS: Program Director/Administration Emphasis

CERTIFICATE OF ACHEIVEMENT - EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDIES ASSOCIATE TEACHER