Ensure the youngest children get a strong start.
Early learning experiences can have a lasting impact on children's growth and development. This Bachelor of Educational Studies emphasis is ideal for students who are passionate about helping young children learn, explore, and thrive. Employment opportunities may be found in public and private early childhood programs, childcare centers, family support organizations, and other institutions focused on the needs of young children and families.
About the Bachelor of Educational Studies Degree
The UMSL Bachelor of Educational Studies (BES) is an experiential education degree designed for students who are passionate about learning, teaching, and making a meaningful impact beyond traditional classroom settings. BES students prepare to lead, teach, and inspire in diverse environments, including early childhood programs, parks and museums, wellness and exercise science settings, and youth and adult development programs.
The program emphasizes experiential learning, inclusive practices, and community engagement. Through flexible coursework and required internships, students explore how people learn in everyday spaces and develop the skills to design and facilitate educational experiences that are relevant, responsive, and rooted in real-world contexts.
Program type:
Major, BES
Format:
On-Campus
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Bachelor of Educational Studies -
Early Childhood Emphasis
The BES, with an emphasis in Early Childhood, is perfect for students excited about education, but looking for challenges outside a traditional classroom. The BES will prepare you for a career as an educator in agencies and institutions that emphasize informal learning in different settings. This degree is designed to be a creative, flexible, and inter-disciplinary bachelor’s degree that emphasizes practical skills in multiple settings.
Students gain skill and insights that can be applied to roles as educators, managers and directors, program planners and curriculum developers. This degree program does not lead to Missouri teacher certification.
Outcomes and Career Outlook
Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to:
- Design and implement effective early childhood programming for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers by integrating knowledge from inclusive education, child development, literacy, family partnerships, and curriculum design through site-embedded experiential learning.
- Analyze institutional and social barriers to equity, access, and achievement, and propose solutions using a personalized understanding of social justice.
- Use critical thinking and reasoning to make conclusions through interpreting and synthesizing information, data, and arguments.
- Demonstrate professionalism, respect, and resilience by navigating multiple projects and reframing challenges as opportunities for growth.
- Communicate ideas effectively through oral, written, nonverbal, and visual formats, applying leadership, management, and collaboration skills across settings.
- Integrate diverse perspectives and explain how difference shapes experience, identity, and human development across contexts.
- Design and implement engaging parks and museum programs by integrating knowledge from anthropology, biology, environmental studies, history, and philosophy, applying interpretive strategies, educational theory, and inclusive practice in experiential learning environments.
61,030
2
Career Opportunities
- Preschool Teacher
- Childcare Center Director
- Early Learning Program Curriculum Coordinator
- Family Engagement Specialist
- Child Development Specialist
- Community-Based Early Learning Educator
Plan of study
General Education Requirements
Students follow the University's General Education Requirements, Mathematical Skills, Advanced Expository Writing, American History and Government, and Cultural Diversity Requirements. Due to prerequisites of required courses all students must take PSYCH 1003 and POL SCI 1100. Students pursuing the Exercise Science emphasis area must take BIOL 1012, BIOL 1013, and MATH 1030.
Foundations (Required Courses)
| TCH ED 1001 | Early Clinical Experience: Community Agency | 1 |
| TCH ED 2000 | Becoming a Professional Educator | 1 |
| EDUC 2002 | Social Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| EDUC 2222 | Interpretation: Connecting Audiences and Meaning | 3 |
| ED PSY 2212 or or CNS ED 3200 |
Child and Adolescent Development Interpersonal Skills in Helping Relationships |
3 |
| PHY ED 2136 | Facilities Management | 3 |
| EDUC 3170 | Grant Proposal Writing for Educators | 3 |
| ED FND 3251 | Black Americans in Education | 3 |
| THEATR 3362 | Storytelling | 3 |
| MKTG 3721 | Introduction to Digital Marketing Strategies | 3 |
| ED TECH 4302 or ED TECH 4436 |
Educational Technology Instruction in Educational Agencies Computer-Mediated Teaching and Learning in Education |
3 |
| ED FND 4330 | History of American Education through the Lens of Social Justice | 3 |
Total Hours |
32 |
|
Required Courses
| ECH ED 3302 | Introduction to Inclusive Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| ECH ED 3303 | Curriculum and Practice Laboratory: Infant/Toddler | 1 |
| ECH ED 3304 | Curriculum and Practice Laboratory: Preschool | 1 |
| ECH ED 3313 | Curriculum and Practice: Infant/Toddler | 2 |
| ECH ED 3314 | Curriculum And Practice: Preschool Education | 2 |
| ECH ED 3332 | Literacy, Learning and Instruction For The Young Child | 3 |
| ECH ED 3350 | Family and Professional Partnerships within School/Community | 3 |
| ECH ED 4317 | Implementation, Evaluation, and Assessment in Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| SPEC ED 3318 | Inclusive Classrooms | 3 |
Total Hours |
21 |
|
Clinical Experiences
| EDUC 4989 | Internship I | 3 |
| EDUC 4990 | Internship II | 6 |
| EDUC 4991 | Internship III | 6 |
Suggested Courses
| MEDIA ST 2211 | Introduction to Digital Multimedia Production | 3 |
| MEDIA ST 2222 | Convergence and Digital Media | 3 |
| MGMT 3600 or SOC 3600 |
Management and Organizational Behavior Management and Organizational Behavior |
3 |
| SOC WK 2000 | Social Work and Social Issues | 3 |
| HLTH PE 3380 | Introduction to Nutrition for Health and Performance | 3 |
Total Hours |
15 |
|
All majors must meet the general education requirements of the university in addition to completing degree-specific curriculum requirements.
Review Full Degree Requirements
Non-Missouri Residents: Prospective students are responsible for reviewing the UMSL state authorizations page to see if this program is offered in their state throughout their program and to review the licensure or certification requirements for the state in which they reside.
Student organizations
Make new friends and learn new skills by joining one of our Recognized Student Organizations. Here are several opportunities you may be interested in as an education major:
- EduCATE: Collegiate Association of Teachers and Educators
- OSI Leadership Education Programs / Advanced Leaders
- Student Government Association
- Students of the University of Missouri
Internship opportunities
BES students have access to a wide range of established partner organizations, including early childhood programs, museums, parks, wellness and recreation organizations, schools, nonprofits, youth-serving agencies, and senior care providers. Examples of current partner sites include the St. Louis Zoo, Gateway Arch National Park, Forest Park Forever, UMSL Athletics, KinderCare Learning Centers, St. Louis Arc, Dolan Memory Care Homes, The Little Bit Foundation, and many others. Students are not limited to existing partner sites. Internship placements are individualized and may include new organizations or a student's current employer when appropriate.
Honors College
The UMSL Honors College is a certificate program that can be paired with any major without adding extra classes or extending time to graduate. Classes in the Honors College are seminar-style, meaning that they are based in reading, writing, discussion, and critical thinking. This unique class format fosters an intellectual climate centered around democracy, civility and academic excellence.
Undergraduate research
We encourage and support students as they engage in exciting activities in and outside of the classroom that enrich their academic and professional understanding of their chosen area of study. All majors are encouraged to participate in Undergraduate Research and Scholarship to produce discipline-specific intellectual or creative innovations to their field.
