NAEYC strives to raise the quality of education for all children from birth through age eight. Accreditation systems are major part of NAEYC's efforts to improve early childhood education; they allow programs to provide the best learning experiences for young children and their educators by meeting national standards of quality.
NAEYC values the role of higher education in advancing the early childhood education profession. Through its higher education accreditation and recognition systems, NAEYC provides two mechanisms for early childhood degree programs to demonstrate their commitment to high-quality professional preparation.
Learn more about these two systems and how to join the group of peer reviewers that help make them possible.
Accreditation of Higher Education Programs
NAEYC awards accreditation to associate, baccalaureate, and master's degree programs that meet the NAEYC Professional Preparation Standards for programs preparing early childhood educators.