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2025 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Ohio

21 Colleges in Ohio
1,018 Child development Degrees Awarded
Ranked #34 in popularity, early childhood education is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 21 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Ohio ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,018 degrees in early childhood education annually.

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

Choosing a Great Early Childhood Education School

Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Ohio 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. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for early childhood education schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

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

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 Ohio list, to help you choose the best school for you. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Early Childhood Education in Ohio

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the child development degree levels they offer.

10 Top Ohio Schools in Child development

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In OH
66 Child development Degrees Awarded

University of Dayton is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in early childhood education. Located in the midsize city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #227 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UDayton is a great university overall.

There were approximately 66 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UDayton in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from University of Dayton

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In OH
95 Child development Degrees Awarded

Miami University - Oxford is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in early childhood education. Located in the fringe town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #134 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Miami University - Oxford is a great university overall.

There were about 95 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Miami University - Oxford in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Miami University - Oxford

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In OH
83 Child development Degrees Awarded

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in early childhood education. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC is a great university overall.

There were about 83 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In OH
159 Child development Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat Ohio University - Athens Campus if you wish to pursue a degree in early childhood education. Located in the town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #184 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means OHIO Athens is a great university overall.

There were roughly 159 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at OHIO Athens in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Ohio University - Athens Campus

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In OH
126 Child development Degrees Awarded

Located in the large suburb of Kent, Kent State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #250 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Kent State is a great university overall.

There were about 126 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Kent State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Kent State University at Kent

6
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
47th Most Popular In OH
88.9% Growth in Graduates

University of Toledo is a fairly large public university located in the city of Toledo. A Best Colleges rank of #510 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means University of Toledo is a great university overall.

There were roughly 9 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at University of Toledo in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from University of Toledo

7
Xavier crest
Xavier University
Cincinnati, OH
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
20th Most Popular In OH

Located in the city of Cincinnati, Xavier is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #277 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Xavier is a great university overall.

There were roughly 12 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Xavier in the most recent year we have data available.

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

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In OH

Located in the suburb of Berea, Baldwin Wallace College is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 25th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were roughly 13 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Baldwin Wallace College in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Baldwin Wallace University

9
Ashland crest
Ashland University
Ashland, OH
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
17th Most Popular In OH

Located in the town of Ashland, Ashland is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #784 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Ashland is a great university overall.

There were approximately 14 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Ashland in the most recent year we have data available.

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

10
Muskingum crest
Muskingum University
New Concord, OH
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
16th Most Popular In OH

Located in the rural area of New Concord, Muskingum is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 67th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were roughly 22 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Muskingum in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Muskingum 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
Michigan 915 486
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.

Majors Similar to Child development

Related Major Annual Graduates
Kindergarten/Preschool Education & Teaching 1,172
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education & Teaching 582
Elementary Education 390
Secondary Education 270
Teacher Education 147
Teacher Development & Methodology 102
Adult & Continuing Education 25
Montessori Teacher Education 25
Online Educator/Online Teaching 1
College/Postsecondary/University Teaching 1

View All Child development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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