Liberal Arts, Social Sciences, or Child Development. I'm stuck on which one...lol. ;(

[sanantone]

The liberal arts include the natural sciences, mathematics, social sciences, and humanities. I don't know why one would want both a social science and liberal arts degree. TESC and COSC have liberal studies programs, which are pretty much the same as Excelsior's liberal arts program. TESC and COSC will be cheaper than Excelsior. TESC also has human services, social science, psychology, and sociology programs. COSC has psychology and sociology concentrations. Excelsior has BA in Liberal Arts, BA/BS in Psychology, and BS in Social Science. COSC (individualized studies) and TESC (learner designed area of study) also let you design your own programs. I really don't see how Excelsior has the upper-hand here.

Almost anything is better than having a degree in liberal arts, liberal studies, general studies, multidisciplinary studies, interdisciplinary studies, etc. It's almost always better to have a more focused degree even if it's something that is still kind of broad i.e. social science, natural science, or humanities. The social sciences are economics, political science, psychology, sociology (including some criminal justice courses that are closely-related), anthropology/archaeology, and sometimes history. If you're just interested in those subjects, then there is no need to get a liberal arts or liberal studies degree. COSC offers bachelor's degrees in general studies with concentrations related to child development or early childhood education. COSC's concentrations are almost the equivalent of majors, but their child-related concentrations are not test friendly. One can completely test out of a BA in Social Science at TESC with the exception of the capstone. One could probably do it for well under $5,000 under the Per Credit Tuition Plan.

A degree in social science will have more flexibility than a degree in child development. Many, if not most, states have alternative teacher certification programs. Commonly, those who want to teach get degrees in education that include the teacher training. In Texas, we do not have undergraduate degrees in education. Aspiring teachers choose a regular college major and take some education courses and complete the practicum on an education track. Alternative teacher certification programs allow people to earn their certifications after having graduated from a non-teaching degree program.

I wouldn't call child development a high-end science degree. It's a fairly easy, applied degree program that combines the easy to understand parts psychology, sociology, education, and biology. It takes a lot of patience and creativity to teach young children, but it doesn't require a lot of intelligence. The salaries are affected by supply and demand and the amount of training/education required. A lot of people who work in private preschools only have a high school diploma or GED plus the CDA credential or an associate's degree.