Western Carolina University

If you're an undergraduate or transfer student,  you have some decisions to make before you get started: Undergraduate students and transfer students will need to consider whether to pursue a professional education or early childhood course of study; transfer students will also need to decide whether to complete the whole 44-hour core or transfer Liberal Studies credits course by course. If you have an A.A.S. degree, you will still need to complete the 44 hour core or liberal studies in order to receive your B.S. in Birth-Kindergarten.

Choice #1: Professional Education or Early Childhood?
Choice #2: Liberal Studies or "Core 44"?

 

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Choice #1: Professional Education or Early Childhood?

 

Professional Education
Students who choose the professional education option are interested in possibly teaching kindergarten, public school pre-k or NC pre-k. Students must pass Praxis I and complete two semesters of internship. The course work between the professional education concentration and the early childhood concentration differ greatly. The internship for professional education is 6 credit hours for Internship I and 12 credit hours for Internship II.

• Download checklist for professional education (PDF)

Early Childhood
Students who choose early childhood are not certified to teach in the public schools. They are generally interested in working with young children & their families in settings other than public schools. There is no internship for the early childhood concentration. Students are required to complete 18 credit hours of action research, in which they need to be in an early childhood setting.

• Download checklist for early childhood (PDF)

This is a choice you must make immediately. You will want to make this choice by the end of your first semester.

 

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Choice #2: Liberal Studies or "Core 44"?

Liberal Studies
This option is where you take the general studies courses you have taken at the community college & transfer them course-by-course to WCU for the specific liberal studies requirements. This option often has "glitches," such as the upper-level perspectives requirement, that make it difficult for many transfer students from community with A.A.S. degrees. Talk with your advisor before making this choice.

"Core 44"
In this option, you complete the 44-hour general education "core" of courses at the community college and this transfers in a "block" in place of the liberal studies requirement. You have an advisor at the community college that helps you determine which courses to take for the "core 44." This option is generally better for transfer students with A.A.S. degrees because you aren't subject to the specific requirements of liberal studies, such as the upper-level perspectives requirement.

*** If you have an A.A., A.S., or a four-year degree, your Liberal Studies are waived at WCU. However, if you have one of those degrees, you may still need to take the courses that WCU assumes you have had as an early childhood student at the community college. Those courses are EDU 144, EDU 145 & EDU 234 (in place of BK 366) or PSY 244 & PSY 245 (in place of BK 363), EDU 146 (in place of BK 462), EDU 259 (in place of BK 470), EDU 234 (in place of BK 366), and EDU 221 (in place of SPED 240).