Contact Us:
Charles Quintela
Director of Teacher Education Programs
Express Bachelor’s Degree – Early Childhood Education (OC-T3)
The Department of Education offers the OC-T3 pathway, an accelerated Associate-to-Bachelor’s route that allows students to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education in just three years.
Students complete 60 credit hours during the first eighteen months to earn the Associate of Arts in Teaching, followed by an additional 60 credit hours over the next eighteen months to complete the Bachelor of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education certification track.
This accelerated model combines academic coursework with residency and apprenticeship partnerships through ECISD, MISD, CREW, and other participating districts. Students gain real classroom experience while completing their degree and helping meet the growing demand for certified early childhood educators. Upon TEA approval, the residency model serves as a direct certification pipeline, ensuring graduates are fully prepared to enter the classroom.
Disclaimer: The Bachelor of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education (OC–T3) at Odessa College provides comprehensive training in early childhood education but does not currently lead to teacher certification in Texas. Read more HERE.
What Makes the OC-T3 Pathway Different?
The OC-T3 track is ideal for students who:
- Want to become a teacher in 3 years
- Want to enter the workforce faster
- Prefer a structured, fast-paced program
- Are paraprofessionals or school employees ready for certification
- Are transfer students with significant credits
- Are close to completing an associate degree
Students complete required coursework in a streamlined sequence that reduces time to graduation while meeting all certification standards.
What You’ll Learn
You will develop the skills needed to teach and support young learners from preschool through elementary grades, including:
- Child development and learning theory
- Classroom management strategies
- Literacy and math instruction methods
- Assessment and instructional planning
- Inclusive and diverse learning environments
- Family and community engagement
- Professional teaching practices
Coursework includes field experiences and classroom application to prepare you for real teaching environments.
OC T-3 Pathway
This Pathway is on a case by case basis. For more information, contact the our Lead Academic Success Coach of Applied Bachelor Programs, Lisa Aguilar at laguilar@odessa.edu or at 432.335.6801.
See the OC Teaching in 3 Years Pathway below or download it here:
| Semester | Number | Title | Credits |
|
Spring 1
|
EDUC 1300 | Learning Frameworks | 3 |
| ENGL 1301 | Composition I | 3 | |
| MUSI 1306 | Music Apprec | 3 | |
|
Spring 2
|
EDUC 1301 | Introduction to Teaching | 3 |
| ENGL 1302 | Composition II | 3 | |
| MATH 1314 | College Algebra | 3 | |
|
Summer
|
BIOL 1408 | Biology for non/science major | 4 |
| HIST 1301 | US to 1877 | 3 | |
|
Fall 1
|
MATH 1350 | Fund of Math I | 3 |
| HIST 1302 | US since 1877 | 3 | |
| COMM 2300/ENGL 2322 | Media Literacy or English 2322/2323 | 3 | |
|
Fall 2
|
GEOL 1403 | Geology | 3 |
| PSYC 2314/ ECON2301 | Lifespan or Economics | 3 | |
| EDUC 2301 | Introduction to Special Populations | 3 | |
|
Spring 1
|
HIST 2301 | Texas History | 3 |
| CHEM 1311 | Gen. Chemistry 1 | 3 | |
| CHEM 1111 | Gen. Chemistry Lab | 1 | |
| GOVT 2305 | Federal Gov | 4 | |
|
Spring 2
|
MATH 1351 | Fund of Math II | 3 |
| GOVT 2306 | Texas Gov | 3 | |
|
|
AAT | 60 | |
|
To Bachelor's
|
|||
|
Semester
|
Number
|
Title
|
Credits |
|
Summer
|
EDEC 3307 | Development During Early Childhood | 3 |
| EDEC 3302 | Supervised Experiences with Young Children | 3 | |
|
Fall 1
|
EDTP 3301 | Foundations of Inclusion and Differentiation for Special Pops | 3 |
| EDEC 3301 | Supervised Experiences with Infants and Toddlers | 3 | |
|
Fall 2
|
EDEC 3305 | Prenatal and Infant Development | 3 |
| EDLL 3301 | Language Literacy Acquisition | 3 | |
| EDIT 3310 | Instructional Technology | 3 | |
|
Spring 1
|
EDTP 3303 | Behavior Management in Special Populations | 3 |
| EDEL 4302 | Methods of Teaching Elementary Science | 3 | |
|
Spring 2
|
EDTP 4315 | Advanced Methods for Teaching Special Populations | 3 |
| EDEL 4303 | Methods of Teaching Elementary Mathematics | 3 | |
|
Spring 1 & 2
|
EDEL 4311 | Student Teaching/Clinical Apprenticeship I | 3 |
|
Summer
|
EDEC 3311 | Theories of Human Development & Family Studies | 3 |
| EDEC 3309 | Development in Cross-Culture Perspective | 3 | |
| EDEC 3303 | Child and Adolescent Guidance | 3 | |
|
Fall 1
|
EDTP 4310 | Literacy in the Content Areas with Special Populations | 3 |
| EDLL 3305 | Foundations in Reading Instruction: The Science of Teaching Reading | 3 | |
|
Fall 2
|
EDTP 3307 | Educational Programs & Services for Special Populations | 3 |
| EDTP 3305 | Designing Assessment for General and Special Populations | 3 | |
|
Fall 1 & 2
|
EDEL 4312 | Student Teaching/Clinical Apprenticeship II | 3 |
| BAS | 120 | ||
Download Spring Start HERE
| Semester | Number | Title | Credits |
|
Fall 1
|
EDUC 1300 | Learning Frameworks | 3 |
| ENGL 1301 | Composition I | 3 | |
| MUSI 1306 | Music Apprec | 3 | |
|
Fall 2
|
EDUC 1301 | Introduction to Teaching | 3 |
| ENGL 1302 | Composition II | 3 | |
| MATH 1314 | College Algebra | 3 | |
|
Spring 1
|
BIOL 1408 | Biology for non/science major | 4 |
| HIST 1301 | US to 1877 | 3 | |
| EDUC 2301 | Introduction to Special Populations | 3 | |
|
Spring 2
|
MATH 1350 | Fund of Math I | 3 |
| HIST 1302 | US since 1877 | 3 | |
| COMM 2300/ENGL 2322 | Media Literacy or English 2322/2323 | 3 | |
|
Summer
|
GEOL 1403 | Geology | 3 |
| PSYC 2314/ ECON2301 | Lifespan or Economics | 3 | |
|
Fall 1
|
HIST 2301 | Texas History | 3 |
| CHEM 1311 | Gen. Chemistry 1 | 3 | |
| CHEM 1111 | Gen. Chemistry Lab | 1 | |
| GOVT 2305 | Federal Gov | 4 | |
|
Fall 2
|
MATH 1351 | Fund of Math II | 3 |
| GOVT 2306 | Texas Gov | 3 | |
|
|
AAT | 60 | |
|
To Bachelor's
|
|||
|
Semester
|
Number
|
Title
|
Credits |
| Spring 1 | EDLL 3301 | Language Literacy Acquisition | 3 |
| EDEC 3311 | Theories of Human Development & Family Studies | 3 | |
| EDEC 3305 | Prenatal and Infant Development | 3 | |
|
Spring 2
|
EDEC 3302 | Supervised Experiences with Young Children | 3 |
| EDEC 3303 | Child and Adolescent Guidance | 3 | |
| EDIT 3310 | Instructional Technology | 3 | |
|
Summer
|
EDTP 3303 | Behavior Management in Special Populations | 3 |
| EDTP 3301 | Foundations of Inclusion and Differentiation for Special Pops | 3 | |
| EDEC 3301 | Supervised Experiences with Infants and Toddlers | 3 | |
| EDEC 3309 | Development in Cross-Culture Perspective | 3 | |
|
Fall 1
|
EDEC 3307 | Development During Early Childhood | 3 |
|
EDLL 3305
|
Foundations in Reading Instruction: The Science of Teaching Reading | 3 | |
|
Fall 2
|
EDTP 4315 | Advanced Methods for Teaching Special Populations | 3 |
| EDEL 4302 | Methods of Teaching Elementary Science | 3 | |
| Fall 1 & 2 | EDEL 4311 | Student Teaching/Clinical Apprenticeship I | 3 |
|
Spring 1
|
EDEL 4303 | Methods of Teaching Elementary Mathematics | 3 |
| EDTP 4310 | Literacy in the Content Areas with Special Populations | 3 | |
|
Spring 2
|
EDTP 3307 | Educational Programs & Services for Special Populations | 3 |
| EDTP 3305 | Designing Assessment for General and Special Populations | 3 | |
|
Spring 1 & 2
|
EDEL 4312 | Student Teaching/Clinical Apprenticeship II | 3 |
| BAS | 120 | ||
Download Fall Start HERE
Certification Disclaimer
Completion of either the Bachelor's ECET EC–3, Bachelor's OC-T3, or the Bachelor's ECET Child Development program does not result in automatic teacher certification. Graduates who wish to pursue teacher certification must apply to and complete an approved Educator Preparation Program (EPP) or Alternative Certification Program (ACP) following graduation.
- Completion of this degree alone will not qualify you to take the Texas teacher certification exam
- Additional steps and requirements are necessary to obtain teacher certification
- Our team has resources available to help guide you through the certification process
Odessa College is actively pursuing approval for an Educator Preparation Program (EPP) through the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Once approved, this program would provide a pathway to teacher certification. However, we have not yet received EPP approval from TEA.
We are committed to transparency throughout this process. A formal announcement will be made immediately upon receiving TEA approval.
If you have questions about your pathway to certification or the resources available to support you, please contact Charles Quintela at cquintela@odessa.edu.
Last Updated: 02.18.2026