Liberal Arts and Sciences with Advisement Area in Early Childhoood

The Degree

Associate in Arts (A.A.)

This degree with an advisement area in early childhood offers you the opportunity for practical experience in your field by participating in internships at nursery schools, day care centers, or other community service agencies that provide health, education, and welfare services. In addition, the College takes pride in its modern day care center, located near the entrance of campus, which also provides opportunities for field experience.

The A.A. Liberal Arts Program

The Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree at Finger Lakes Community College is designed for students who intend to transfer to pursue a baccalaureate degree, with courses equivalent to those offered during the freshman and sophomore years at most four-year colleges and universities.

Students who transfer from FLCC with an A.A. Liberal Arts and Sciences degree pursue bachelor's degrees in a broad range of majors such as:

  • Elementary and secondary education
  • Psychology
  • Political science
  • Pre-law
  • English
  • History

The degree is recognized in transfer (articulation) agreements with a large number of public and private four-year institutions in New York State and across the nation.

In addition, FLCC offers Honors courses, open to all qualified students, that provide enhanced educational experiences for students with outstanding ability. Successful completion of Honors courses or an Honors Certificate may increase your options for transfer to four-year institutions.

The Advisement Areas

This degree program is designed to help you build a solid academic foundation and prepare for successful transfer to a four-year institution to pursue a bachelor's degree. In addition, students who are interested in a specific area of study may focus their education by earning an A.A. Liberal Arts and Sciences degree with an advisement area for transfer in:

  • Anthropology
  • Athletic Training
  • Early Childhood
  • History
  • Humanities
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Social Science
  • Sociology

The Faculty

Faculty include practitioners in the field and fulltime and adjunct faculty members with expertise in early childhood psychology, education, and health. The learning environment is both practical and experiential as well as knowledge based. Early childhood faculty are dedicated to helping students achieve their academic and career goals.

Information for Students Who Are Undecided about Their Majors

Liberal Arts and Sciences could be the ideal place for you to begin your college career at FLCC. You can explore your interests and abilities, while at the same time begin working toward a college degree.

Many new students who are undecided about their college major will apply for admission into the A.A. Liberal Arts and Sciences program. It is more common than you may realize for students to be uncertain about their academic and career goals upon entering college. Even for those students who enter college with a declared major, statistics show that approximately 70% will change their major at least twice before graduating.

The most important advice we can give undecided students is "don't get discouraged." Instead, take these action steps toward your future:

  • High School Juniors and Seniors can attend a Career Exploration Day for Undecided Students, and returning adult students can attend a Career Transitions Workshop at FLCC to explore career interests, learn more about programs of study, and how FLCC can help you get started.
  • Visit the Finger Lakes Community College Career Services Office to learn more about yourself, define your goals, investigate career interests, and decide on what you want in a career. Ask about Discover, a computerized career guidance system which provides occupational information as well as an assessment of your interests, abilities, experiences, and values.
  • A Career Services counselor can also help you with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Strong Interest Inventory, self assessment and career guidance tools that help with career planning and offer insight into personal and professional development. Make an appointment at the Career Center to learn about these and other career guidance resources currently available. After you complete an assessment, your scores will be interpreted for you and discussed with you at an individual appointment.
  • When selecting your course schedule (with the help of your advisor), try to choose courses in a variety of disciplines. After a few courses, students often get a clearer picture of their favorite and least favorite subject areas.

A.A. Liberal Arts and Sciences

Curriculum Requirements

The student is required to complete a minimum of 64 credit hours, with a grade point average of not less than C (2.0).

All associate degree programs require English 101 Freshman English and English 102 Introduction to Literature. Students must pass skills assessment for entrance into these courses. Students who are well prepared may substitute ENG 104 English I Honors and ENG 105 English II Honors for ENG101 and ENG102. Students who are considering the English Honors sequence should consult the Director of Honors.

The student must successfully complete:

Humanities

  • ENG 101 Freshman English and ENG 102 Introduction to Literature
    or
    ENG 104 English I Honors and ENG 105 English II Honors
  • COM 110 Public Speaking or COM 115 Interpersonal Communication.
  • 3 credit hours of humanities electives

Social Science

  • 3 credit hours of HIS history electives
  • 9 credit hours of social science electives

Mathematics/Science

  • 9 credit hours (must include at least on math and one science course)

Liberal Arts Electives

  • 9 credit hours
  • 3 credit hours from Arts

Information Management

  • 3 credit hours of computer science electives

Health/Physical Education Elective

  • 4 credit hours

General Electives

  • The remainder of the required credit hours must be made up of approved electives. In many cases the student may wish to study to prepare for transfer into specific subject area degree programs at four-year colleges and universities. By appropriate course selection in consultation with a faculty advisor, students pursuing the AA Liberal Arts and Sciences degree may prepare for transfer to upper-division study.

Students who are transferring to four-year institutions should follow the general education course requirements for transfer to SUNY and non-SUNY schools. View the general education requirements for more details.

Liberal Arts and Sciences with Advisement Area in Early Childhood

Sample Schedule

The schedule below shows how the requirements for the A.A. Liberal Arts and Science degree with an advisement area for transfer in Early Childhood, for students interested in careers in childcare, nursery school, and similar institutions, may be met in four semesters. Please check with your transfer institution with regard to specific courses and requirements. This schedule is an example of one of many possible schedules that might be followed by a full-time student. Many students attending Finger Lakes Community College who have work and/or family obligations choose a different sequence of courses and take more than four semesters to fulfill the requirements for the degree. Similarly, students who find they need to take some preparatory course work may plan a schedule that takes more than four semesters to complete. All students should consult their advisors when they plan their schedules.

First Semester (16 Credit Hours)

  • ENG 101 Freshman English 
  • *HUS 102 Human Services in Contemporary America (3)
  • SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology (3)
  • PSY 100 Introduction to Psychology(3)
  • Mathematics Elective (3)
  • PE Elective (1)

Second Semester (15 Credit Hours)

  • ENG 102 Introduction to Literature
  • *SSC 125 Foundations of Child Care (3)
  • PSY 225 Child Psychology (3)
  • PE 214 RTE - First Aid (3)
  • COM 110 Public Speaking (3)

Third Semester (17 Credit Hours)

  • *HUS 204 Field Experience I (4)
  • BIO 111 Biology of Man I or  BIO 171 Anatomy &Physiology I (4)
  • SOC 120 Marriage & Family: The American Family (3)
  • CSC 100 Computing in the Information Age (3)
  • General Elective - Foreign Language recommended (3)

Fourth Semester (17 Credit Hours)

  • *HUS 205 Field Experience II (4)
  • BIO 112 Biology of Man II or BIO 172 Anatomy & Physiology II (4)
  • Humanities Elective (3)
  • HIS Elective (3)
  • **Arts (3)

*HUS/SSC courses will fulfill the social science requirement in this sequence.

Social Science courses begin with ANT, ECO, HIS, POL, PSY, SOC, SSC

Humanities courses begin with ART, CIN, COM, ENG, FRN, HUM, MUS, PHL, SPN. THE

**Fine Arts courses include ART 100, ART 101, ART 213, ART 223, CIN 260, CIN 261, MUS 100, MUS 105, MUS 110, MUS 111, MUS 115, MUS 116, THE 104

Students intending to transfer to a SUNY Institution should consult with their advisor for course selections that meet general education requirements.