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2025 Best Human Development & Family Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

21 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
1,538 Bachelor's Degrees
$35,292 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in human development & family studies, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #39 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 21 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for human development & family studies students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,538 bachelor's degrees in human development & family studies during the 2021-2022 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Human Development & Family Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Human Development & Family Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The human development bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for human development & family studies students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Human Development & Family Studies Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Human Development Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Human Development & Family Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Human Development & Family Studies in the Great Lakes Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in human development & family studies.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Human Development

1
136 Annual Graduates
$34,149 Median Starting Salary
$33,524 Median Student Debt

University of Wisconsin - Madison is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in human development & family studies. UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the human development program make around $34,149 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from University of Wisconsin - Madison

2
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
113 Annual Graduates
$31,434 Median Starting Salary
$28,099 Median Student Debt

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in human development & family studies has to look into Michigan State University. Michigan State is a very large public university located in the city of East Lansing.

Soon after graduating, human development bachelor's recipients usually earn about $31,434 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from Michigan State University

3
123 Annual Graduates
$34,610 Median Starting Salary
$20,000 Median Student Debt

Ohio State University - Main Campus is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in human development & family studies. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the human development program earn around $34,610 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from Ohio State University - Main Campus

4
83 Annual Graduates
$35,436 Median Starting Salary
$28,841 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat Purdue University - Main Campus if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in human development & family studies. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population.

Soon after graduating, human development bachelor's recipients generally make around $35,436 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from Purdue University - Main Campus

5

Union is a fairly small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Cincinnati.

Human Development & Family Studies bachelor's degree recipients from Union Institute & University earn a boost of about $4,105 above the average income of human development & family studies majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from Union Institute & University

6
75 Annual Graduates
$29,762 Median Starting Salary
$37,012 Median Student Debt

UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign.

Soon after graduating, human development bachelor's recipients usually make about $29,762 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

7
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI
98 Annual Graduates
$35,318 Median Starting Salary
$24,888 Median Student Debt

Located in the town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the human development program report average early career income of $35,318.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from Central Michigan University

8
77 Annual Graduates
$35,209 Median Starting Salary
$26,696 Median Student Debt

WMU is a fairly large public university located in the city of Kalamazoo.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the human development program earn about $35,209 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from Western Michigan University

9
49 Annual Graduates
$38,973 Median Starting Salary
$41,790 Median Student Debt

Located in the distant town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the human development & family studies major at Ohio University - Athens Campus earn $3,681 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from Ohio University - Athens Campus

10
72 Annual Graduates
$28,342 Median Starting Salary
$20,929 Median Student Debt

Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the human development program earn an average of $28,342 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from Northern Illinois University

Best Human Development & Family Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best human development & family studies schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 472
Ohio 252 497
Illinois 241 330
Indiana 235 142
Wisconsin 213 266

View All Rankings >

One of 8 majors within the Family, Consumer & Human Sciences area of study, Human Development & Family Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Human Development Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Human Development & Family Studies 864
Child Development 211
Family & Community Services 180
Child Care & Support Services Management 125
Family Systems 82
Other Human Development, Family Studies, & Related Services 59
Early Childhood and Family Studies 16
Child Care Provider/Assistant 1

Related Major Annual Graduates
Textile & Apparel Studies 369
Food, Nutrition & Related Services 204
General Family & Consumer Sciences 97
Family & Consumer Economics 64
Human Sciences Business Services 34
Housing 28

Notes and References

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