Complete Our Online CDA Classes at Your Own Pace

This certificate program is comprised of child development online courses that will help you gain the knowledge and skills to work toward earning your CDA credential. Upon graduation, you will meet many of the prerequisites you need to sit for the Child Development Associate exam, including completion of 120 formal education hours and a professional portfolio.

Penn Foster College is a partner of the Council for Professional Recognition and has earned the Council's CDA Gold Standard for its Child Development Associate (CDA) Undergraduate Certificate program.

Your program will focus on one of three settings aligned with the Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential, which you will select after you enroll. Choose from:

• Infant/Toddler Center-Based CDA
• Preschool Center-Based CDA
• Family Child Care CDA

In our CDA classes, you will prepare portfolio items, participate in live webinars, and complete course assignments specific to CDA requirements. All instructors in our program are Professional Development Specialists as approved by the CDA Council.

With mobile-friendly coursework, progress-tracking and goal-setting tools, virtual simulations, and informative videos to help you succeed, the Penn Foster Experience (PFx) is online learning like no other.

In Penn Foster College's CDA program, you'll cover lessons that will help you fulfill the educational component and build a professional portfolio — which are some of the key items necessary to begin your application to the Council for your Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential. You'll learn about health, safety, and nutrition; child, family and community; child growth and development; and the CDA setting of your choice. Additionally, the CDA Competency Standards book is included in your program and will align with the setting that you choose.