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2025 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Pennsylvania

29 Colleges in Pennsylvania
1,764 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.

College Factual looked at 29 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,764 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 Pennsylvania 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

The child development school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania

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 Pennsylvania Schools in Child development

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In PA
68 Child development Degrees Awarded

It's difficult to beat Kutztown University of Pennsylvania if you want to pursue a degree in early childhood education. Located in the fringe town of Kutztown, Kutztown University is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #616 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Kutztown University is a great university overall.

There were approximately 68 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Kutztown University in the most recent year we have data available.

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

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
21st Most Popular In PA

University of Scranton is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in early childhood education. Located in the small city of Scranton, University of Scranton is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #202 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means University of Scranton is a great university overall.

There were about 25 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at University of Scranton in the most recent year we have data available.

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

3
Duquesne crest
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In PA
75 Child development Degrees Awarded

Duquesne University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in early childhood education. Duquesne is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #196 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Duquesne is a great university overall.

There were roughly 75 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Duquesne in the most recent year we have data available.

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

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In PA
79 Child development Degrees Awarded

Millersville University of Pennsylvania is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in early childhood education. Millersville is a medium-sized public university located in the large suburb of Millersville. This university ranks 53rd out of 103 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were about 79 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Millersville in the most recent year we have data available.

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

5
Messiah crest
Messiah University
Mechanicsburg, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
30th Most Popular In PA

Located in the large suburb of Mechanicsburg, Messiah is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #679 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Messiah is a great university overall.

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

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

6
CHC crest
Chestnut Hill College
Philadelphia, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In PA
38 Child development Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Philadelphia, CHC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #736 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means CHC is a great college overall.

There were about 38 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at CHC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Chestnut Hill College

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
27th Most Popular In PA
22.2% Growth in Graduates

LVC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Annville. A Best Colleges rank of #607 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means LVC is a great college overall.

There were roughly 27 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at LVC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Lebanon Valley College

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In PA
54 Child development Degrees Awarded

Located in the town of Shippensburg, Ship is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 45th out of 103 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were approximately 54 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Ship in the most recent year we have data available.

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

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In PA
50 Child development Degrees Awarded

Located in the town of Slippery Rock, SRU is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #621 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SRU is a great university overall.

There were about 50 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at SRU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

10
Etown crest
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
35th Most Popular In PA
28.6% Growth in Graduates

Etown is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Elizabethtown. A Best Colleges rank of #708 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Etown is a great college overall.

There were roughly 21 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Etown in the most recent data year.

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

Best Early Childhood Education Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Early Childhood Education Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New York 1,026 900
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
Secondary Education 674
Elementary Education 604
Teacher Education 441
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education & Teaching 248
Teacher Development & Methodology 233
Adult & Continuing Education 91
Kindergarten/Preschool Education & Teaching 48
Online Educator/Online Teaching 29
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Methods 28
Montessori Teacher Education 5

View All Child development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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