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2025 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

56 Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region
3,397 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.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 56 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to determine which ones were the best for early childhood education students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 3,397 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 the Middle Atlantic Region 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
Doctor's Degrees in Child development

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Early Childhood Education Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list to help you make the college decision. 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 the Middle Atlantic Region

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. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

11 Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools in Child development

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In NJ

It's hard to beat The College of New Jersey if you want to pursue a degree in early childhood education. TCNJ is a medium-sized public college located in the large suburb of Ewing. A Best Colleges rank of #200 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means TCNJ is a great college overall.

There were roughly 20 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at TCNJ in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from The College of New Jersey

2
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In NY
33 Child development Degrees Awarded

New York University is a great option for students pursuing a degree in early childhood education. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 33 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from New York University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In DE
43 Child development Degrees Awarded

It is difficult to beat University of Delaware if you wish to pursue a degree in early childhood education. Located in the large suburb of Newark, UD is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #96 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UD is a great university overall.

There were roughly 43 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UD in the most recent year we have data available.

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

4
Towson crest
Towson University
Towson, MD
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MD
73 Child development Degrees Awarded

Towson University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in early childhood education. Towson is a fairly large public university located in the city of Towson. A Best Colleges rank of #188 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Towson is a great university overall.

There were roughly 73 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Towson in the most recent year we have data available.

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

5
Hunter crest
Hunter College
New York, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In NY
102 Child development Degrees Awarded

Hunter is a very large public college located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #296 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Hunter is a great college overall.

There were about 102 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Hunter in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Hunter College

6
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In NJ
42 Child development Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Wayne, William Paterson University is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #341 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means William Paterson University is a great university overall.

There were approximately 42 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at William Paterson University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from William Paterson University of New Jersey

7
Salisbury crest
Salisbury University
Salisbury, MD
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MD
49 Child development Degrees Awarded

Salisbury is a medium-sized public university located in the suburb of Salisbury. This university ranks 12th out of 35 schools for overall quality in the state of Maryland.

There were roughly 49 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Salisbury in the most recent year we have data available.

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

8
Brooklyn College crest
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NY
165 Child development Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Brooklyn, Brooklyn College is a public college with a large student population. This college ranks 62nd out of 136 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were about 165 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Brooklyn College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Brooklyn College

9
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In DC

Located in the large city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means The American University is a great university overall.

There were approximately 2 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at The American University in the most recent data year.

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

10
SUNY Cortland crest
SUNY Cortland
Cortland, NY
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
29th Most Popular In NY
80.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the distant town of Cortland, SUNY Cortland is a public school with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #218 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means SUNY Cortland is a great school overall.

There were roughly 5 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at SUNY Cortland in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from SUNY Cortland

11
QC crest
Queens College
Queens, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In NY
66 Child development Degrees Awarded

QC is a large public college located in the large city of Queens. This college ranks 52nd out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

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

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Queens College

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Early Childhood Education students in the Middle Atlantic Region that almost earned our Best Early Childhood Education Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region award.

Rank College Location
12 Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA
13 Pace University - New York New York, NY
14 The City College of New York New York, NY
15 University of Scranton Scranton, PA
16 SUNY New Paltz New Paltz, NY
17 Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA
18 Wilmington University New Castle, DE

Best Early Childhood Education Colleges by State

Explore the best early childhood education colleges for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New York 1,026 900
Pennsylvania 978 1,644
Maryland 618 485
New Jersey 614 150
District of Columbia 441 28
Delaware 345 61

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
Elementary Education 5,100
Teacher Education 2,257
Secondary Education 1,574
Teacher Development & Methodology 447
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education & Teaching 323
Kindergarten/Preschool Education & Teaching 292
Adult & Continuing Education 177
Montessori Teacher Education 64
Online Educator/Online Teaching 55
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Methods 37

View All Child development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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