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2025 Best Child Development Schools in the Great Lakes Region

5 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
361 Child Development Degrees Awarded
Child Development is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #239 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 5 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Child Development Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 361 degrees in child development to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Child Development School

Best Child Development Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of child development 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 child development 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.

Child Development 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 Child Development Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Child Development in the Great Lakes Region

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the child development degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Child Development

1
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In MI

Any student who is interested in child development needs to take a look at Michigan State University. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.

There were about 20 child development students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in child development from Michigan State University

2
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MI
76 Child Development Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in child development has to look into Central Michigan University. Central Michigan is a fairly large public university located in the town of Mount Pleasant. This university ranks 6th out of 56 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were about 76 child development students who graduated with this degree at Central Michigan in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in child development from Central Michigan University

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MI
58 Child Development Degrees Awarded

Western Michigan University is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in child development. Located in the city of Kalamazoo, WMU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #322 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means WMU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 58 child development students who graduated with this degree at WMU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in child development from Western Michigan University

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In OH

It is difficult to beat University of Akron Main Campus if you want to pursue a degree in child development. University of Akron Main Campus is a large public university located in the midsize city of Akron. This university ranks 23rd out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were roughly 16 child development students who graduated with this degree at University of Akron Main Campus in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in child development from University of Akron Main Campus

5
Baker College crest
Baker College
Owosso, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MI

Located in the town of Owosso, Baker College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 32nd out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 30 child development students who graduated with this degree at Baker College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in child development from Baker College

Best Child Development Colleges by State

Explore the best child development schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Ohio 939 44
Michigan 915 227
Illinois 870 53
Indiana 737 0

View All Rankings >

One of 10 majors within the Human Development & Family Studies area of study, Child Development has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Child Development

Related Major Annual Graduates
Child Care Provider/Assistant 1,482
General Human Development & Family Studies 922
Child Care & Support Services Management 469
Family & Community Services 253
Family Systems 115
Other Human Development, Family Studies, & Related Services 83
Adult Development & Aging 44
Early Childhood and Family Studies 19

View All Child Development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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