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2025 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in South Carolina

15 Colleges in South Carolina
472 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 15 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in South Carolina ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 472 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 South Carolina 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. 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.

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 South Carolina. 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 South Carolina

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 South Carolina Schools in Child development

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In SC
76 Child development Degrees Awarded

University of South Carolina - Columbia is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in early childhood education. Located in the midsize city of Columbia, UofSC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #99 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UofSC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 76 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UofSC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from University of South Carolina - Columbia

2
Clemson crest
Clemson University
Clemson, SC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In SC
53 Child development Degrees Awarded

Clemson University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in early childhood education. Located in the midsize suburb of Clemson, Clemson is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #149 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Clemson is a great university overall.

There were approximately 53 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Clemson in the most recent year we have data available.

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

3
C of C crest
College of Charleston
Charleston, SC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In SC

Any student who is interested in early childhood education has to look into College of Charleston. C of C is a large public college located in the city of Charleston. A Best Colleges rank of #692 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means C of C is a great college overall.

There were roughly 29 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at C of C in the most recent year we have data available.

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

4
Winthrop crest
Winthrop University
Rock Hill, SC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In SC
33 Child development Degrees Awarded

It is difficult to beat Winthrop University if you wish to pursue a degree in early childhood education. Winthrop is a small public university located in the city of Rock Hill. A Best Colleges rank of #1148 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Winthrop is a great university overall.

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

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

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In SC
31 Child development Degrees Awarded

USC Upstate is a small public university located in the midsize suburb of Spartanburg. A Best Colleges rank of #992 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means USC Upstate is a great university overall.

There were approximately 31 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at USC Upstate in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from University of South Carolina - Upstate

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In SC
53 Child development Degrees Awarded

Coastal Carolina University is a fairly large public university located in the city of Conway. A Best Colleges rank of #1142 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Coastal Carolina University is a great university overall.

There were roughly 53 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Coastal Carolina University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Coastal Carolina University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In SC

North Greenville is a small private not-for-profit university located in the rural area of Tigerville. This university ranks 23rd out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of South Carolina.

There were about 22 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at North Greenville in the most recent year we have data available.

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

8
Lander University crest
Lander University
Greenwood, SC
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In SC
33 Child development Degrees Awarded

Located in the town of Greenwood, Lander University is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 25th out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of South Carolina.

There were roughly 33 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Lander University in the most recent year we have data available.

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

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In SC
17.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Aiken, UofSC Aiken is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 28th out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of South Carolina.

There were approximately 28 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UofSC Aiken in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from University of South Carolina - Aiken

10
Bob Jones University crest
Bob Jones University
Greenville, SC
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
16th Most Popular In SC

Located in the small city of Greenville, Bob Jones University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 21st out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of South Carolina.

There were approximately 6 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Bob Jones University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Bob Jones University

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

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.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Elementary Education 516
Teacher Development & Methodology 274
Secondary Education 187
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education & Teaching 98
Teacher Education 34
Kindergarten/Preschool Education & Teaching 4
Montessori Teacher Education 3
Online Educator/Online Teaching 1

View All Child development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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