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2025 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Michigan

11 Colleges in Michigan
549 Child development Degrees Awarded
If you pursue a degree in early childhood education, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #34 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual looked at 11 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Michigan ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 549 degrees in early childhood education to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Early Childhood Education School

Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Michigan The child development program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Early Childhood Education rankings. We derive our Best Overall Early Childhood Education School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Early Childhood Education Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Child development
Bachelor's Degrees in Child development
Master's Degrees in Child development
Doctor's Degrees in Child development

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Michigan list, to help you choose the best school for you. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Early Childhood Education in Michigan

The schools below may not offer all types of child development degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Michigan Schools in Child development

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MI
57 Child development Degrees Awarded

Western Michigan University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in early childhood education. WMU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Kalamazoo. A Best Colleges rank of #322 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means WMU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 57 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at WMU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Western Michigan University

2
Saginaw Valley State University crest
Saginaw Valley State University
University Center, MI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In MI
54 Child development Degrees Awarded

Every student pursuing a degree in early childhood education needs to look into Saginaw Valley State University. Saginaw Valley State University is a medium-sized public university located in the suburb of University Center. This university ranks 28th out of 56 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were roughly 54 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Saginaw Valley State University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Saginaw Valley State University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MI
75 Child development Degrees Awarded

Eastern Michigan University is a wonderful option for students pursuing a degree in early childhood education. Located in the suburb of Ypsilanti, Eastern Michigan is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #598 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Eastern Michigan is a great university overall.

There were roughly 75 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Eastern Michigan in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Eastern Michigan University

4
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In MI

Any student pursuing a degree in early childhood education needs to look into Central Michigan University. Located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #346 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Central Michigan is a great university overall.

There were approximately 30 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Central Michigan in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Central Michigan University

5
Calvin crest
Calvin University
Grand Rapids, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15th Most Popular In MI

Located in the midsize city of Grand Rapids, Calvin is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #788 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Calvin is a great university overall.

There were roughly 7 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Calvin in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Calvin University

6
Oakland crest
Oakland University
Rochester Hills, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In MI

Located in the suburb of Rochester Hills, Oakland is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #443 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Oakland is a great university overall.

There were roughly 9 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Oakland in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Oakland University

7
Aquinas College Michigan crest
Aquinas College Michigan
Grand Rapids, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
27th Most Popular In MI

Aquinas College Michigan is a small private not-for-profit college located in the medium-sized city of Grand Rapids. This college ranks 44th out of 56 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 8 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Aquinas College Michigan in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Aquinas College Michigan

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
19th Most Popular In MI
36 Child development Degrees Awarded

Northern Michigan University is a moderately-sized public university located in the remote town of Marquette. This university ranks 35th out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were roughly 36 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Northern Michigan University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Northern Michigan University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In MI

Located in the medium-sized city of Dearborn, UM Dearborn is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 21st out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 26 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UM Dearborn in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from University of Michigan - Dearborn

10
Spring Arbor crest
Spring Arbor University
Spring Arbor, MI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In MI
37 Child development Degrees Awarded

Spring Arbor is a small private not-for-profit university located in the rural area of Spring Arbor. This university ranks 27th out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 37 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Spring Arbor in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Spring Arbor University

Best Early Childhood Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Early Childhood Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Ohio 939 1,129
Illinois 870 960
Indiana 737 548
Wisconsin 672 508

View All Rankings >

One of 13 majors within the Teacher Education Grade Specific area of study, Early Childhood Education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Elementary Education 743
Secondary Education 217
Teacher Development & Methodology 26
Teacher Education 20
College/Postsecondary/University Teaching 2

View All Child development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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