Best Online Associate in Early Childhood Education Programs of 2025

Early childhood education (ECE) is any type of education children receive before they reach five years of age. ECE settings include preschools, childcare facilities, and homes. ECE educators include preschool teachers, daycare workers, teacher assistants, and nannies.

People who want to become a preschool teacher or teacher assistant may need to complete an associate degree in ECE. Preschool teachers need at least a two-year degree to enter the profession, which is growing at a much faster rate than average.

We’ll cover ECE fields that require associate degrees, and rank the best online degree programs, coursework, costs, and completion times.

Two-year programs in early childhood education typically issue Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Applied Science (AAS), or Associate of Science (AS) degrees. Some programs may be designed for students who want to enter the field after graduation. Others prepare students for transfer to four-year baccalaureate programs.

In these associate degree programs, aspiring educators learn effective instructional strategies through coursework in curriculum development and the principles and practices of teaching young children. They also discover strategies for working with diverse learners via courses in special education, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and language and literacy development.

Other common course topics include:

Students must also complete general education and elective courses. Some programs require students to fulfill practicum or internship requirements, as well.

Many associate degrees in early childhood education consist of around 60 credits. Full-time students take about 15 credits per semester and earn their degree in two years. Most part-time students complete this degree in 3-4 years. But if you’re taking self-paced, asynchronous courses, program length can vary widely.

Depending on the institution, you may be able to reduce the program length by transferring previously earned credits or by earning college credit through relevant employment.

An online associate degree in education costs about $12,300 per year, according to 2022-2023 National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data. The good news is that the cost varies per institution, and online degrees cut commuting costs that in-person associate degrees may carry.

Your return on investment for your college education is something to keep in mind, too. To help you pay for school, you can apply for education scholarships to reduce the cost of your tuition and fees.

An early childhood education associate degree provides the skills and knowledge you need to work with kids in and out of the classroom. You could teach kids in a preschool, look after kids in daycare, or assist teachers in the classroom.

In most of these roles, you’ll balance supervising children and organizing activities to entertain them or teach them basic concepts.

Though an associate degree is sufficient for some preschool teaching jobs, many states require these pre-kindergarten educators to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. For instance, 50% of all teachers in Head Start, a federal program for children from low-income families, must hold bachelor’s degrees or higher. Preschool teachers at public schools, as well as preschool and daycare center directors, often need to hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

Some states also require preschool teachers to hold Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials. The Council for Professional Recognition, the organization that issues the credential, describes it as the “most widely recognized credential in early childhood education.” The credentialing process requires several steps and must be completed every three years.