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2025 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in North Carolina

13 Colleges in North Carolina
2,694 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 13 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in North Carolina ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 2,694 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 North Carolina Your choice of early childhood education school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. 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.

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

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 North Carolina. 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 North Carolina

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 North Carolina Schools in Child development

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NC
134 Child development Degrees Awarded

It is difficult to beat University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill if you want to pursue a degree in early childhood education. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public university located in the city of Chapel Hill. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.

There were about 134 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In NC
77 Child development Degrees Awarded

University of North Carolina at Greensboro is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in early childhood education. UNC Greensboro is a large public university located in the city of Greensboro. A Best Colleges rank of #549 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNC Greensboro is a great university overall.

There were roughly 77 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UNC Greensboro in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from University of North Carolina at Greensboro

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

University of Mount Olive is a great choice for students interested in a degree in early childhood education. Located in the rural area of Mount Olive, UMO is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 46th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were approximately 61 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UMO in the most recent year we have data available.

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

4
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In NC
64 Child development Degrees Awarded

It is difficult to beat Durham Technical Community College if you want to pursue a degree in early childhood education. Located in the large city of Durham, Durham Technical Community College is a public college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #989 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Durham Technical Community College is a great college overall.

There were about 64 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Durham Technical Community College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Durham Technical Community College

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
54th Most Popular In NC
50.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Fayetteville, Fayetteville State University is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 67th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 8 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Fayetteville State University in the most recent year we have data available.

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

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In NC
119 Child development Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Salisbury, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population. This college ranks 50th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were about 119 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

7
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In NC
37 Child development Degrees Awarded

Central Piedmont Community College is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Charlotte. A Best Colleges rank of #572 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Central Piedmont Community College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 37 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Central Piedmont Community College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Central Piedmont Community College

8
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
13th Most Popular In NC
104 Child development Degrees Awarded

Forsyth Tech is a moderately-sized public college located in the large city of Winston-Salem. This college ranks 32nd out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 104 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Forsyth Tech in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Forsyth Technical Community College

9
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In NC
97 Child development Degrees Awarded

Guilford Technical Community College is a large public college located in the large suburb of Jamestown. A Best Colleges rank of #844 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Guilford Technical Community College is a great college overall.

There were roughly 97 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Guilford Technical Community College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Guilford Technical Community College

10
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In NC
293 Child development Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Raleigh, Wake Technical Community College is a public college with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #461 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Wake Technical Community College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 293 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Wake Technical Community College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Wake Technical Community College

Best Early Childhood Education Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 715 1,201
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.

Majors Similar to Child development

Related Major Annual Graduates
Elementary Education 1,370
Teacher Development & Methodology 1,019
Kindergarten/Preschool Education & Teaching 569
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education & Teaching 106
College/Postsecondary/University Teaching 42
Teacher Education 39
Secondary Education 32
Adult & Continuing Education 21

View All Child development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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