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2025 Best Child Development & Psychology Schools in the Great Lakes Region

19 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
3,457 Child Development Degrees Awarded
$38,732 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in child development & psychology is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #57 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 19 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for child development & psychology students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,457 degrees in child development & psychology annually.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Child Development & Psychology School

Best Child Development & Psychology Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of child development & psychology school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Child Development & Psychology School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that 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.

Pick Your Child Development & Psychology Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Child Development
Master's Degrees in Child Development
Doctor's Degrees in Child Development

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Child Development & Psychology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college 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 Child Development & Psychology in the Great Lakes 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 Great Lakes Region Schools in Child Development

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
773 Child Development Degrees Awarded
3.1% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat University of Michigan - Ann Arbor if you want to pursue a degree in child development & psychology. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were roughly 773 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the child development program state that they receive average early career income of $31,872.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In IN
4.2% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in child development & psychology needs to take a look at University of Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.

There were approximately 24 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of Notre Dame

Sponsored
Bachelors Degree Type
BA in Psychology - Child & Adolescent Development Program Name

Gain practical experience working with children in a variety of settings with this specialized online bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.

More information about a degree in BA in Psychology - Child & Adolescent Development from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
162 Child Development Degrees Awarded
24.7% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat University of Chicago if you want to pursue a degree in child development & psychology. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were approximately 162 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, child development degree recipients generally make about $31,986 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of Chicago

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
606 Child Development Degrees Awarded
$33,384 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you wish to pursue a degree in child development & psychology. UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were about 606 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the child development program state that they receive average early career earnings of $33,384.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
644 Child Development Degrees Awarded
92.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 644 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. Those child development & psychology students who get their degree from Ohio State University - Main Campus make $52,543 more than the standard child development grad.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from Ohio State University - Main Campus

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In IL

Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were roughly 22 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from Northwestern University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
347 Child Development Degrees Awarded
6.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.

There were roughly 347 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, child development degree recipients usually earn around $31,129 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from Indiana University - Bloomington

Sponsored
Masters Degree Type
MS in Psychology - Child & Adolescent Development Psychology Program Name

Learn assessment, intervention and consultation strategies that address the unique individual, cultural and psychological needs of children and families with this specialized online master's from Southern New Hampshire University.

More information about a degree in MS in Psychology - Child & Adolescent Development Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
320 Child Development Degrees Awarded
15.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #65 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.

There were approximately 320 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the child development program earn around $31,172 for their early career.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from Purdue University - Main Campus

9
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In IL

DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.

There were approximately 4 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from DePaul University

10
Denison crest
Denison University
Granville, OH
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
53 Child Development Degrees Awarded
35.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Granville, Denison is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 12th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were about 53 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at Denison in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, child development degree recipients usually earn an average of $36,909 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from Denison University

Best Child Development & Psychology Colleges by State

Explore the best child development & psychology colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 794
Ohio 314 107
Illinois 304 857
Indiana 294 701
Wisconsin 273 11

View All Rankings >

One of 24 majors within the Psychology area of study, Child Development & Psychology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Child Development Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Experimental Psychology 1,720
Other Research & Experimental Psychology 1,260
Behavioral Neuroscience 357
Social Psychology 40
Developmental & Child Psychology 31
Psychometrics & Quantitative Psychology 26
Cognitive Psychology & Psycholinguistics 23

View All Child Development Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
General Psychology 14,211
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 4,934
Other Psychology 140

View All Child Development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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