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2025 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Florida

18 Colleges in Florida
1,493 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 18 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Florida ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,493 degrees in early childhood education to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Early Childhood Education School

Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Florida Your choice of early childhood education school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. 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.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Early Childhood Education 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 Florida 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 Florida

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 Florida Schools in Child development

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In FL
101 Child development Degrees Awarded

University of Central Florida is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in early childhood education. UCF is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Orlando. A Best Colleges rank of #217 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCF is a great university overall.

There were about 101 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UCF in the most recent year we have data available.

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

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
19th Most Popular In FL
5.9% Growth in Graduates

University of South Florida - Main Campus is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in early childhood education. USF Tampa is a very large public university located in the large city of Tampa. A Best Colleges rank of #198 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USF Tampa is a great university overall.

There were roughly 17 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at USF Tampa in the most recent year we have data available.

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

3
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
22nd Most Popular In FL

University of Florida is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in early childhood education. Located in the city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #56 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UF is a great university overall.

There were roughly 15 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent data year.

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

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In FL
221 Child development Degrees Awarded

It's difficult to beat Florida International University if you wish to pursue a degree in early childhood education. FIU is a very large public university located in the suburb of Miami. A Best Colleges rank of #262 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means FIU is a great university overall.

There were about 221 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at FIU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Florida International University

5
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In FL
38 Child development Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Jacksonville, UNF is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 26th out of 70 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.

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

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

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In FL
468 Child development Degrees Awarded

Rasmussen University - Florida is a small private for-profit university located in the small city of Ocala. A Best Colleges rank of #168 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Rasmussen University - Florida is a great university overall.

There were about 468 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Rasmussen University - Florida in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Rasmussen University - Florida

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
28th Most Popular In FL
50.0% Growth in Graduates

FGCU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Fort Myers. This university ranks 37th out of 70 colleges for overall quality in the state of Florida.

There were roughly 10 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at FGCU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Florida Gulf Coast University

8
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In FL

Located in the suburb of Lake Worth, Palm Beach State College is a public college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #258 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Palm Beach State College is a great college overall.

There were about 27 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Palm Beach State College in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Palm Beach State College

9
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
25th Most Popular In FL
41.2% Growth in Graduates

Indian River State College is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Fort Pierce. This college ranks 25th out of 70 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.

There were about 17 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Indian River State College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Indian River State College

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
16th Most Popular In FL
39 Child development Degrees Awarded

CF is a medium-sized public college located in the city of Ocala. This college ranks 34th out of 70 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.

There were roughly 39 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at CF in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from College of Central Florida

Best Early Childhood Education Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
North Carolina 710 1,012
Georgia 690 1,167
Virginia 630 383
Tennessee 624 185
South Carolina 530 539
Kentucky 518 83
Mississippi 501 32
Alabama 500 276
Louisiana 489 119
Arkansas 466 210
West Virginia 410 4

View All Rankings >

Early Childhood Education is one of 13 different types of Teacher Education Grade Specific programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Elementary Education 1,625
Secondary Education 169
Teacher Education 96
Teacher Development & Methodology 51
Adult & Continuing Education 18
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education & Teaching 18
Montessori Teacher Education 8

View All Child development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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