Early Care & Education
Future career possibilities include:
- Infant-Toddler Teacher
- Preschool Teacher
- Center Director
- Curriculum Specialist
- Family Child Care Provider
- And more!
The B.A. in Child & Adolescent Development: Concentration in Early Care & Education is for students who wish to work primarily with young children (infants, toddlers and preschoolers) and their families in settings such as child care centers and preschools. This concentration is aligned with the California Child Development Permit (the teaching credential for preschool and younger) and the Early Childhood Special Education graduate program at SF State.
Starting in Fall 2022, "Early Care & Education" is the new concentration title that is available for students to pursue. The previous "Early Childhood" concentration title is still available for current SF State CAD Early Childhood students.
SF State Scholars (Blended Bachelor's + Master's + Credential) Program
The San Francisco State Scholars program provides undergraduate students with an accelerated pathway to a graduate degree and credential. Graduates of this integrated program will be able will be able to complete their BA in Child and Adolescent Development (Early Care and Education), MA in Special Education, and preliminary credential in Early Childhood Special Education in 5 years (including summer).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, you can request to change your major on your student center. View the Major & Minor Change Guide for steps on how to change your major.
If you have already completed CAD 450 in the CAD core major requirements, please email cad@sfsu.edu to request to course substitute CAD 450 for the new CAD 411 requirement.
Yes, students in the Early Childhood and Early Care & Education concentrations can qualify for different levels of the CA Child Development Permit based on their specific coursework history and field experiences. We highly encourage current students to use the Early Childhood Recommended Courses for CA Child Development Permit document that is included in their CAD Major Planning Worksheet (please see above). For more information about Child Development Permits, including funding, resources and support for permit applications – please visit our CA Child Development Permit webpage.
If you want to be a public general education Kindergarten or Transitional Kindergarten (TK) school teacher, we recommend declaring the CAD Elementary Education Teaching Pre-Credential concentration and the minor in Early Childhood Development.
If you want to obtain the Early Childhood Special Education Credential (ECSE), to be able to work with young children with disabilities from birth through kindergarten, we recommend declaring the CAD Early Care & Education concentration.
If you want to work in classroom setting (but as a supervisor, director, or owner of a family childcare facility), we recommend reviewing the Early Care & Education concentration.
If you want to work outside the classroom (e.g, counselor, Child Life Specialist, social worker), we recommend reviewing the Community, Health, & Social Services concentration.
If you are still unsure, we recommend meeting with a CAD Faculty Advisor.
Please visit our advising webpage.
Please visit SF State’s Undergraduate Admissions website for details on eligibility.
Please contact Student Outreach Services.
You may transfer no more than 70-semester units to a CSU campus from an institution which does not offer bachelor's degrees or their equivalents, e.g., community colleges. Given the university's 30-unit residency requirement, you may transfer no more than 90 total units into the university from all sources.
General education requirements are the same for all CSU campuses, so California community college articulations of general education courses (about one third of degree requirements) are handled centrally and may be accessed at ASSIST.
Yes – students can take articulated equivalents of some of the CAD major courses at California Community Colleges. You can visit the ASSIST website to view the articulation agreement between SF State and your specific Community College.
For the Early Care & Education concentration, there are community college equivalent courses for CAD 210, CAD 260, and CAD 215.