Overview
Early Childhood Education is an in-demand multi-disciplinary career around the world as governments are now paying greater attention to the healthy growth and development of young children. Recent research has shown that when governments invest more in the lives of young children, especially those in poverty and neglect, the investment can result in a healthier, more educated and employable adult population. As such, early childhood education has become an emerging and exciting field that can lead to real improvements for any society.
The Bachelor of Early Childhood Education is a four-year direct teacher preparation programme. It aims to equip students for entry into the Singapore early childhood education profession as certified teachers for kindergartens and child care centres. The programme is also designed with a future and global outlook to produce graduates who are poised to contribute towards improving the lives of young children and their families across traditionally separate disciplines such as social services and public education (e.g., museums, healthcare).
Working with young children (infants through age 6) in centre-based care is a physically demanding profession. Candidates would need to meet ECDA's medical requirements for pre-school teachers upon admission into the programme as students in this programme are required to spend more than 1000 hours in direct contact with young children in child care centres and kindergartens during the course of their study from Year 1 onward.
Career Prospects
The programme is designed with a future and global outlook to produce graduates who are poised to contribute towards improving the lives of young children and their families across traditionally separate disciplines such as social services and public education (e.g., museums, healthcare).
Programme Structure
For Jul23 intake onwards:To graduate, students are required to complete a total of 200 credit units (),
inclusive of 60
of SUSS Core courses which are designed to hone students' conceptual
and writing abilities along with their communication skills.
The breakdown of the to be completed is:
- 60 cu of SUSS Core courses
- 75 cu of Major Compulsory courses
- 15 cu of Major Elective courses
- 50 cu of Free Electives and/or Minor
In addition, they are required to complete up to 12 months of supervised field education (including Work Attachment), an overseas experience and a community engagement. Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) aims to produce graduates who are professionally competent, social-minded, self-directed learners who are versatile enough to work with both young children and adults.
| 4 Year Track | 3 Year Track | |
|---|---|---|
| Applicable for |
Applicants with non-ECE background from:
OR Applicants with an ECE Polytechnic Diploma who do not meet the requirements for the 3 Year Track. |
Applicants with a 3 Year full-time ECE diploma from: Temasek Polytechnic:
Ngee Ann Polytechnic:
National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC) AND Have achieved CGPA of 3.50 and above AND At least B4 grade for GCE 'O'Level English OR IELTS (Academic) Band 6.5
and above. |
| Exempted from |
View relevant exemptions here: /full-time-undergraduate/admissions/pre-qualifications/credit-waivers-credit-recognitions |
Exempted from:
|
| Work Attachment |
12 weeks of Work Attachment |
Exempted from Work Attachment |
Curriculum
Admission Requirements
The Full-time Bachelor of Early Childhood Education programme is open to all applicants regardless of whether they have any prior early childhood diploma qualification.
Refer to general admission criteria for full-time undergraduate programmes.
Besides meeting the course requirements, applicants must rank Early Childhood Education within the first and second choice to be considered for shortlisting for interview. There will be additional admission criteria to better target students who are aligned
to the educational philosophy of our full-time programmes. This will be done through
interviews and selection tests.
Applicants with a prior 3-year full-time polytechnic early childhood diploma qualification with CGPA 3.5 and above could qualify for a 3-year track. See Programme Structure below for details.
Applicants who have taken IELTS (Academic) should submit their result as part of their application. Test scores must be obtained within the last 2 years at point of admission. All results must be submitted to SUSS by 31 May of the admission year.
Medical Requirements
Applicants who are offered a place in SUSS's full-time Bachelor of Early Childhood
Education programme would need to be certified medically fit for study
and to work with children by a certified medical doctor according to ECDA's medical
requirements for pre-school teachers.
Financial Assistance
There are various types of financial aid (e.g., study grants) available to students. Please click here for more details.
The following study grant is open to full-time Bachelor of Early Childhood Education students:
- Kewalram Chanrai Group Study Grants
In addition to the financial aid schemes, there are scholarships which are open to full-time Bachelor of Early Childhood Education students. For example:
- Mohamed Abdul Jaleel Scholarships (open to all full-time undergrads)
- Kewalram Chanrai Group Scholarships (full-time female undergrads)
- PCF Sparkletots@Telok Blangah 44 Scholarship (for final year 3 and year 4 full-time ECE students)
- Goh Leng Tse and Anthony Teo Scholarship (for year 2 full-time undergrads)
- Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) Training Award (University) [TA(Uni)]. Annual applications are made directly to ECDA. Please refer to ECDA website for more details.
Visit SUSS Scholarships page for more information: /full-time-undergraduate/admissions/suss-scholarships-awards#Scholarships