Undergraduate Program

Department of Family & Consumer Sciences

Professional Child Development Option

The professional child development option is offered by distance delivery only but has the same quality and requirements as on-campus programs. All students are assigned an advisor who works closely with them throughout their program. Completion of this degree prepares students for teaching and administrative positions in early childhood development and care; work in resource and referral agencies; Early Head Start home visitor positions; and child advocacy. It also provides a foundation for simultaneous completion of a birth-to-five teaching endorsement, for those students who apply, or post-graduate completion of a teaching certificate in early childhood special education. The distance delivery of this program allows students who have existing A.A. or A.S. degrees in child development, early childhood education, or a closely related field to complete their bachelor’s degree. Place bound students, many of whom currently work in early childhood programs, have the opportunity to earn a degree from their own hometown. Many of the courses also satisfy requirements of the Early Childhood Program Director’s Certificate.

Entry into this program is by acceptance only. In order to be considered for this program, students must first apply for admission to UW. Once accepted to UW, official transcripts from all institutions attended must be submitted to UW Admissions and a mandatory security screen (background check) must be satisfactorily completed. Admission into the program will not be considered until all of these steps have been completed. Applicants must have successfully completed the following courses prior to entry:

Content Courses:
SOC 1000 Sociological Principles ( 3 credit hours)
PSYC 1000 General Psychology ( 3 credit hours)
EDEC 1020 Intro to Early Childhood Education (3 credit hours)

University Studies Program (USP) Courses:
Quantitative Reasoning (Q)
Communication 1 (COM1)
U.S. & Wyoming Constitutions (V)
Physical & Natural World (PN)

** See the list of approved USP courses