University of Guelph-Humber

With two major program changes at the University of Guelph-Humber, students now have faster routes than ever before to a degree in Early Childhood Studies.

Beginning in the fall, students can enroll in a new, fully online curriculum that allows students to attain an Honours Bachelor of Applied Science degree on a part-time basis in just eight semesters (or just over two years with summer study). A hybrid format, which combines online and on-campus study in Toronto, is also still available.

In another major change, the University of Guelph-Humber can now award any successful applicant to the Early Childhood Studies program 10.0 transfer credits for their two-year ECE college diploma, or the equivalent of two years of full-time study. That means that those professionals can now pursue a degree faster than ever before.

“For us, this is ground-breaking,” said Early Childhood Studies Program Head Dr. Nikki Martyn. “All colleges in Ontario that offer ECE programs are now getting two years of transfer credits, so their entire diplomas are being recognized by us. To complete their degree, students only need to come for about two years now, whereas in the past it was three years.

“What that does is it recognizes the college diploma and qualifications that an ECE is getting out of college as professionally designated, which is a really important point for our profession. It makes a university degree more accessible. And for registered early childhood educators, this allows much more flexibility because they can be working at the same time.”

The benefits of the new fully online option, meanwhile, go well beyond convenience. Because students from across Ontario and perhaps beyond can now pursue an Early Childhood Studies degree online, the hope is that areas that are currently underserved by early childhood professionals could benefit.

“If we look at northern Ontario where it’s really grossly underpopulated in terms of ECEs or professionals who understand families, the closest university for them to attend might be in Timmins or Sudbury, which may be hours away,” Dr. Martyn pointed out. “It’s not manageable. This was created for working professionals. It’s meant to be accessible to people. Students can do the work at their speed.

“The idealistic part of me would say we’ll be able to get to underserviced areas and hopefully effect change through education. It’s great for our university, it’s great for our program, but it’s also great for children and families.”

Join us on the University of Guelph-Humber campus Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. for an information session about all your Early Childhood Studies transfer options, or take part in a webinar on April 6.

Learn more about Early Childhood Studies Degree Completion at the University of Guelph-Humber.