The City College of New York’s Early Childhood Education Program (ECE), ranks #4 in the United States among the top 85 most affordable such programs. This is according to the 2020 rankings by Discover Early Childhood EDU, an independent resource for prospective educators seeking long-term employment.
A partnership between City College’s Division of Interdisciplinary Studies and School of Education, the program offers a nationally accredited bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, leading to New York State teaching certification (Birth-Grade 2).
Discover Early Childhood cites the CCNY program for training students to be effective teachers “through learning and understanding child development and behavior, as well as the needs of diverse learners, child diversity, ethical and responsible decision making, and child welfare.” It also notes that many program participants go on to complete a master’s degree.
Other highlights of the program include: an 83% retention rate; a student faculty ratio of 14 to 1; an average salary of $71,000 for graduates and a 10-year Return on Investment (ROI) of $696,412.
Only North Carolina’s Elizabeth City State University, CUNY Lehman College and California State University-Los Angeles, in that order rank above CCNY.
The rankings are based primarily on government data sources, including the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics; with Payscale as the only private source. Click here for Discover Early Childhood’s rankings methodology.
This is another notable recognition of the School of Education at City College. Earlier this year, GradReports placed both SOE’s Special Education and Educational Leadership graduate offerings in the top 10 in the United States, in its 2020 rankings of Best Colleges for Earning Potential. Recently, the ECE program was ranked in the top 3% of the top 25 Early Childhood Education programs by the Bachelor's Degree Center.
About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.