by our College Data Analytics Team
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Most Well Attended Child Development Major” ranking.
In 2020-2021, 4,641 people earned their degree in child development, making the major the 239th most popular in the United States.
For this year’s “Most Well Attended Child Development Major” ranking, we looked at 185 colleges that offer a degree in child development. To top this list, a school must have a successful child development program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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 “Most Well Attended Child Development Major”.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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.
The colleges and universities below are the best for child development students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Fresno Pacific University. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended Child Development Major. This small school is located in Fresno, California, and it awarded 167 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas Woman’s University. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Child Development Major. This fairly large school is located in Denton, Texas, and it awarded 157 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 185 schools in the Most Well Attended Child Development Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Michigan University landed the #4 spot on the list. Central Michigan is a public institution located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 105 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Point Loma Nazarene University. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended Child Development Major. Point Loma Nazarene University is located in San Diego, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 83 ’s child development degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Child Development at Point Loma Nazarene University
Tulsa Community College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking, coming in at #6. This fairly large school is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and it awarded 175 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Child Development at Tulsa Community College
Post University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking. Waterbury, Connecticut is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out ’s child development degrees to 77 students in 2020-2021.
University of La Verne did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking, coming in at #8. University of La Verne is located in La Verne, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 61 ’s child development degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Tufts University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Well Attended Child Development Major list. Tufts is a private not-for-profit institution located in Medford, Massachusetts. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 52 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
East Tennessee State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking. East Tennessee State University is a fairly large school located in Johnson City, Tennessee that handed out 52 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Child Development at East Tennessee State University
University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking, coming in at #11. University of Virginia is a public institution located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 50 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on Child Development at University of Virginia
Bowie State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking, coming in at #12. Bowie State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Bowie, Maryland. It awarded 49 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Child Development at Bowie State University
Eastern Washington University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking. EWU is a fairly large school located in Cheney, Washington that handed out 51 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #14, Brigham Young University - Idaho did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major list. BYU - I is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Rexburg, Idaho. It awarded 43 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Western Michigan University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking, coming in at #15. Western Michigan University is a fairly large public school situated in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It awarded 41 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Child Development at Western Michigan University
Concordia University, Saint Paul did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking, coming in at #16. Concordia University, Saint Paul is a private not-for-profit institution located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 40 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Child Development at Concordia University, Saint Paul
West Virginia University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking. Located in Morgantown, West Virginia, this large public school handed out 38 diplomas to qualified ’s child development students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Child Development at West Virginia University
Appalachian State University ranked #17 on this year’s Most Well Attended Child Development Major list. Located in Boone, North Carolina, this large public school handed out 38 diplomas to qualified ’s child development students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
California State University - San Bernardino did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking, coming in at #19. California State University - San Bernardino is a fairly large public school situated in San Bernardino, California. It awarded 37 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
University of Central Missouri came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking. This fairly large school is located in Warrensburg, Missouri, and it awarded 36 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #21, Erikson Institute did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major list. The Erikson Institute is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 46 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Vanderbilt University ranked #22 on this year’s Most Well Attended Child Development Major list. Vanderbilt University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Nashville, Tennessee. It awarded 34 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Child Development at Vanderbilt University
With a ranking of #23, Missouri State University - Springfield did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major list. Missouri State University - Springfield is a public institution located in Springfield, Missouri. The school has a large population, and it awarded 33 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #24, Baker College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major list. Baker College is located in Owosso, Michigan and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 31 ’s child development degrees to qualified students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Saint Paul College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Child Development Major ranking, coming in at #25. Saint Paul College is a medium-sized school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota that handed out 29 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.
Not only did these schools make the top 30 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
