OUR PROGRAM

George Brown College is now accepting applications for an Early Childhood Education (ECE) program that leads to an ECE diploma from George Brown after the first two years and then a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree from Ryerson University at the end of the fourth year.

Students will spend the first two years at GBC’s Ryerson Campus, at the Sally Horsfall-Eaton Centre for Studies in Community Health, which is co-operatively managed with George Brown, followed by two years at Ryerson University.

The consecutive program offers some distinct advantages:

• College-level tuition fees, rather than higher university fees, for the first two years.
• Classes with George Brown College faculty, who are national leaders in applied ECE education.
• Practical training in George Brown’s nine state-of-the-art child care lab schools in Toronto.
• Graduate with both an ECE diploma and degree, which offers expanded career scope and direction.
• Graduates enter directly into Ryerson in the third year.

This program enables students to gain skills and knowledge through a unique system of alternating blocks of classroom theory and field practice. George Brown’s program provides theoretical and practical training with infant, toddler, preschool and school-aged children. The program trains students to work with children aged six weeks to 12 years, in a variety of early childhood education settings.

Each semester is divided into blocks of seven weeks. One block is for academic studies, the other is for field placements, where students have the opportunity to work with children of all ages in a variety of settings.

Notes:

• Students must submit proof of a satisfactory medical examination upon entering the program.
• Field placement is a mandatory and complex component of the program. Should accommodation issues arise, a Special Needs Consultant may be called upon to assist the applicant in determining whether she/he can meet the requirements necessary for safe caregiving for young children.
• In compliance with requests from our student placement partners, all students in this program must have a police reference check completed before their field placement. These reference checks, which can take up to four months, are done to protect the clientele of these agencies, who are considered “vulnerable persons” under the law. The fees for the reference checks vary and must be paid by the student. Students are responsible for ensuring that the check covers appropriateness for “individuals being employed and/or volunteering who will be working with vulnerable person(s).” Students who are unable to provide a clear police reference check may be unable to complete their field placement and, therefore, be unable to complete the program.
• As a program requirement students must complete a standard first aid with CPR-C course prior to beginning field placement.

For more information,
call the George Brown School of Early Childhood at 416.415.5000 ext. 2310 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
e-mail:

For updated information and course descriptions, call 416-415-2000 (TTY 1-877-515-5559) or long distance 1-800-265-2002.

Read more about School of Early Childhood

View the Early Childhood Development brochure.
Check out our Child Care Centres

Return to: Full-time Programs Guide