Affordable online early childhood education bachelor’s degrees

Fee units, residency eligibility, and placement conditions come from each school’s published terms:

Florida Gateway College: Credits are semester credits. Entry requires a conferred A.A. or A.S. degree, and the published cost covers the upper-division coursework rather than all 120 credits of the degree. The college publishes $7,015.68 tuition for its upper-division program, up to $600 for online fees, and $40 lab fees, excluding books. Ask the college for an itemized completion plan and the cost of the credits you still need. Classes are conducted entirely online, but field experiences and the internship are completed in person across a variety of ages and settings. The bachelor's program is accredited by the NAEYC Commission on the Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs; that accreditation is not a state licensure decision. The college states it has maintained the same rates since the 2012-13 academic year. Its tuition-rates page publishes degree-course rates per hour (for example $120.33 resident and $264.44 for non-resident online B.A.S. courses) but has no row for a B.S. degree course, so that table is recorded for reference only and the published program cost remains the price basis.

Fort Hays State University: Credits are semester credits. The curriculum includes internship coursework. Online delivery does not remove practical placement requirements. Ask the school for its program-specific fees and for licensing costs before you budget. The $275.65 online undergraduate figure is published as tuition and fees together, so no additional per-credit mandatory fee is modeled. Before the internship every candidate must have a background check and TB skin test (valid four years once admitted to teacher education) and must buy professional liability insurance through a professional organization; FHSU publishes no price for any of the three, and approved out-of-area placements can add further cost.

Southern Illinois University: Credits are semester credits. The online pathway is synchronous: online courses meet at scheduled times. Online coursework does not remove the clinical work, and the final semester requires a full-time student teaching placement. Graduates apply for an Illinois Professional Educator License with an early childhood endorsement (children from birth up to eight years of age); requirements in other states may differ, so check with the state where you plan to teach. The 2026-2027 board-approved mandatory fees for online/off-campus students are $80 per credit hour (General Student Fee) plus a $3 per-term Student-to-Student Grant Fee. A $26-per-credit-hour Textbook Fee has an opt-out procedure, and a $1,139 per-term Student Insurance Fee is listed without stating whether it applies to online-only students, so neither is modeled per credit. Some courses carry fees for laboratory work, technology, supervision, field trips or supplies, published only in the class schedule. Before student teaching, candidates must pass Illinois content-area test(s), whose fee is paid to the state testing vendor. New or transfer students starting Fall 2026 pay $327.75 per credit hour. Course-specific and one-time charges are not listed, so ask the school for its complete fee list.

University of Nebraska at Kearney: Credits are semester credits. This is a non-teaching early childhood degree: the program prepares graduates for advocate and support roles working with families and children, not for teacher licensure. The rates shown are UNK's published 2026–2027 online/blended undergraduate tuition. The per-credit online fees are itemized as academic success $6, distance education $35, library $8.25, technology $15 and undergraduate research fellows $3, which is $67.25 per credit hour. Billed separately: a $4-per-semester student records fee, a $100 new student enrollment fee in the first semester only, a $25-per-semester international student fee if applicable, and additional course (lab) fees that may apply.

University of New Hampshire: Credits are semester credits. This is UNH College of Professional Studies. The historical Early Childhood Education listing now points to this renamed program. It qualifies graduates for the New Hampshire early childhood credential and does not lead to public school teacher licensure. The degree plan includes the EDC 797 practicum; ask the program where the practicum must be completed. Mandatory fees are billed per semester, not per credit: a $50 academic services fee, a $50 registration fee and a $13 CAPS fee for undergraduates, which is $113 per semester at a typical load. The application fee and admission deposit are published as $0.00. A $75-per-credit-hour clinical course mentoring fee applies only to EDC clinical classes, which includes the EDC 797 practicum in this degree plan. A materials fee is assessed course by course, and a prior learning assessment fee of $350 applies only if workplace training credit is awarded. Ask the school for its fee list before you rely on a total.

University of the Cumberlands: Credits are semester credits. The published rate is a bundled base cost, not pure tuition: the university's One Price Promise states that tuition, fees, technology, academic resources, and course materials are included in one per-credit-hour price. The university does not publish a dated mandatory-fee schedule for this rate, so ask the school for its itemized fee list before you rely on a total. Coursework is online, but field/clinical experiences and student teaching hours are completed in person. The university describes a Kentucky Birth–Primary certification pathway; requirements in other states may differ, so check with the state where you plan to teach. The $220 per credit hour is an all-in One Price Promise rate that the university lists as covering tuition, technology fees, academic resources, library access, counseling services, fees and books; a transcript is $10, an application fee is $30, and an undergraduate deposit of $125 is non-refundable if paid after May 1. The rate has been in effect since the Summer 2023 term and carries no academic year label.

University of Washington: Credits are quarter credits. The degree requires 180 quarter credits, including an 87-credit major. Enter accepted credits in quarter units. Admission requires at least 45 transferable quarter credits. This is a degree-completion pathway: applicants need at least 45 transferable quarter credits. Graduates do not earn a teaching certificate; the program is for early care and education roles. Coursework is online, but students complete supported community-based learning in an early-learning setting for three to five hours each week. The posted $231 per-credit estimate excludes UW fees. UW bills fee-based degree students each quarter they register: a $55 registration fee, a technology fee of $8-$38, a Services & Activities fee of $57-$284 and an $81 U-PASS (2026-2027), which is roughly $201 to $458 per quarter depending on credit load, so ask the school for its complete fee list. The application fee is nonrefundable but no amount is published on the pages read.

University of West Alabama: Credits are semester credits. The program advertises Alabama teaching certification through the Class B Professional Educator Certificate (P–3/K–6). Requirements in other states may differ, so check with the state where you plan to teach. Most coursework can be completed online, but internship and field experiences must be completed in an Alabama-approved school; availability to residents of other states is not confirmed. The online fee schedule lists a $120 per-semester Tiger One Technology Fee and Online Course Fees of $50-$300 per course in addition to tuition; the technology fee is billed per semester and the course fee varies by course, so neither is spread across credits. A $25.50-per-credit-hour Undergraduate Course Materials Fee applies to online undergraduate students by default from Fall 2026, and students may opt out during the add/drop period. A $50 comprehensive examination fee applies if that option is taken. The $30 application fee carries processing fees. Ask the school for its fee list before you rely on a total.

Wichita State University: Credits are semester credits. This apprentice pathway requires employment as a para educator in a Wichita State College of Education partner school, with placements confirmed before admission; it is not open to students without that school-based position. Graduates are eligible to apply for Kansas elementary teaching and early childhood unified licenses. The comprehensive schedule effective Fall 2026 lists $260.85 per credit for the Early Childhood/Elementary Education Teacher Apprentice Program, and that program-specific rate applies instead of the generic online-undergraduate rate. Additional charges depend on course codes and enrollment: a $5.50-per-credit course fee on TAP course codes, a $30 field experience/internship course fee, and a $100 capstone course fee. Ask the school for a degree plan and its complete fee list before you rely on a total. The Fall 2026 schedule also bills a per-semester Student Support Services Fee by credit load - $742.35 at nine or more hours, $494.90 at six to 8.75 hours and $247.45 up to 5.75 hours, halved in summer - and the only online exemption the schedule names is for the online Dental Hygiene program, so an apprentice pays it. A College of Education course fee is listed at $25.00 per credit hour for Teacher Apprentice Pathways and $22.00 per credit hour for School of Education courses, but the program's own cost page shows a lower $5.50-per-credit course fee, so the two official pages disagree. It is therefore not added to the modeled per-credit fee. An out-of-area student teaching placement can add a courtesy placement fee of up to $500 per person, on top of the $30 field experience/internship course fee and $100 capstone course fee already described.