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2024 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in the Plains States Region

55 Colleges in the Plains States Region
1,437 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.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 55 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Early Childhood Education Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,437 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 Plains States 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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Early Childhood Education Schools in the Plains States Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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 Plains States 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.

10 Top Plains States Region Schools in Child development

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In MN
33 Child development Degrees Awarded

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in early childhood education. UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the large city of Minneapolis. A Best Colleges rank of #51 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UMN Twin Cities is a great university overall.

There were about 33 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IA
33 Child development Degrees Awarded

Every student pursuing a degree in early childhood education has to look into University of Northern Iowa. UNI is a moderately-sized public university located in the city of Cedar Falls. A Best Colleges rank of #199 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.

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

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

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IA

Iowa State University is a great option for students pursuing a degree in early childhood education. Iowa State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Ames. A Best Colleges rank of #75 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 24 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent data year.

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

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MO
48 Child development Degrees Awarded

It's hard to beat Missouri State University - Springfield if you want to pursue a degree in early childhood education. Missouri State is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Springfield. This university ranks 11th out of 48 colleges for overall quality in the state of Missouri.

There were roughly 48 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Missouri State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Missouri State University - Springfield

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In MO

Located in the city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #124 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Mizzou is a great university overall.

There were roughly 14 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Mizzou in the most recent year we have data available.

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

6
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In KS
42.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Lawrence, KU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means KU is a great university overall.

There were about 21 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at KU in the most recent year we have data available.

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

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In MN
21.7% Growth in Graduates

MLC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the distant town of New Ulm.

There were approximately 23 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at MLC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Martin Luther College

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In ND

UND is a fairly large public university located in the city of Grand Forks. A Best Colleges rank of #218 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UND is a great university overall.

There were roughly 16 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UND in the most recent data year.

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

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
17th Most Popular In MN

Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #408 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Winona State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 3 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Winona State in the most recent data year.

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

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In KS

Located in the city of Wichita, WSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 6th out of 47 colleges for overall quality in the state of Kansas.

There were about 10 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at WSU in the most recent data year.

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


 

Best Early Childhood Education Colleges by State

Explore the best early childhood education schools for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 742 650
Missouri 693 276
Iowa 648 121
Kansas 599 41
Nebraska 500 65
North Dakota 416 59
South Dakota 381 62

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 6,429
Secondary Education 1,014
Teacher Development & Methodology 637
Teacher Education 499
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education & Teaching 282
Adult & Continuing Education 235
Kindergarten/Preschool Education & Teaching 46
Montessori Teacher Education 28
College/Postsecondary/University Teaching 27
International Teaching and Learning 24

View All Child development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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