Undergraduates at UMass Amherst may major in Education with a concentration in Early Childhood Education, leading to Massachusetts initial licensure (PreK–2). Early Childhood Education students engage in a rigorous academic program and in a carefully sequenced series of field experiences in diverse educational settings. They apply to the major once they have completed their prerequisites, generally in the Spring of their sophomore year.

UMass graduates with a BA in Early Childhood Education have been very successful in securing teaching positions in public and private schools in Massachusetts as well as in other states.