Middlesex Community College

Early Childhood Education Leadership Certificate

Whether you're looking to begin or advance your career—MCC is a great place to begin your future.

This program is designed for experienced Early Childhood Educators (those with MA Department of Early Education and Care Lead Teacher (Level 2) certification and at least six months of Lead Teacher experience) who seek to take on leadership roles within the field of ECE.  The Early Childhood Education (ECE) Leadership Certificate meets all MA EEC education requirements for Director I and II (Levels 3 and 4) certification.

Graduates of the Early Childhood Education Leadership Certificate are prepared to provide pedagogical and operational oversight that guides the practice of early childhood educators and programs and ensure that implementation of EEC programs is in alignment with research-based best practices, professional standards and competencies, and licensure requirements.

Candidates for the certificate must:  

• Have taken a minimum of 15 credits with at least a 2.5 GPA
• Hold a MA Department Early Education and Care Lead Teacher (Level 2) Certification
• Have at least six months of experience serving in the Lead Teacher role

The ECE Leadership Certificate is comprised of nine courses (total of 25 credits) *:

• ENG 101 — Composition I
• MAT 130 — Elements of Math I
• EDU 122 — Child Growth and Development
• EDU 101 — Curriculum in Early Childhood Programs
• EDU 153 — Planning Programs and Environments for Children
• EDU 104 — Exceptional Learners
• EDU 252 — Administration of Early Childhood Programs
• EDU Elective
• IDS 103 — General Education Seminar:  Leadership

* Most students will be able to transfer the majority of these credits from an ECE Associate degree or other prior coursework.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW A MAP OF REQUIRED COURSES.

Courses are delivered through a variety of modalities including weekend schedules, hybrid, online, and traditional face-to-face options, and students may be eligible for financial assistance through financial aid, scholarships and/or grant funding. Please visit the ECE Career Pathways Grant page for more information.

Certificate students have access to all campus facilities, services, and programs including technology labs, civic and service-learning opportunities, student clubs and organizations, veteran's services, disability services, counseling, fitness and recreation centers, and the Asian-American Student Advancement Program. For more information on what MCC has to offer students, please see MCC's Student Life page.


PROGRAM NOTES

• Length of the program will depend on students’ prior educational and work experience.
• Most students will be able to transfer many of the required courses from a previous ECE Associate or Bachelor’s degree.  Students are encouraged to consult with advisors to confirm credits that can be applied to the Leadership program.
• If students are not able to transfer credit for ENG 101, EDU 122, EDU 101 and EDU 153 from previous coursework, these courses must be taken first and in that order, as they are pre-requisites for further coursework in the program.  Students are strongly encouraged to make use of summer and mini-mester opportunities if these courses are needed.
• The following courses may be taken as EDU electives: EDU 102; EDU 103; EDU 110; EDU 154; ENG 113.
• IDS 122 and IDS 123, the co-requisite field placements for EDU 104 and EDU 153, respectively, are waived for ECE Leadership students.