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2025 Best Child Development & Psychology Schools in Pennsylvania

9 Colleges in Pennsylvania
1,114 Child Development Degrees Awarded
$38,732 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in child development & psychology, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #57 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 9 schools in Pennsylvania to determine which ones were the best for child development & psychology students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 1,114 degrees in child development & psychology to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Child Development & Psychology School

Best Child Development & Psychology Schools in Pennsylvania Your choice of child development & psychology 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 & psychology 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.

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Child Development & Psychology Schools in Pennsylvania ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Child Development & Psychology in Pennsylvania

The schools below may not offer all types of child development degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

Top Pennsylvania Schools in Child Development

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
146 Child Development Degrees Awarded
$44,542 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat University of Pennsylvania if you wish to pursue a degree in child development & psychology. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.

There were roughly 146 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the child development & psychology program at University of Pennsylvania make $5,810 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

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

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In PA
490 Child Development Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus if you wish to pursue a degree in child development & psychology. Pitt is a fairly large public university located in the city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #85 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Pitt is a great university overall.

There were roughly 490 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at Pitt in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

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
Lehigh crest
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In PA
60.0% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in child development & psychology has to take a look at Lehigh University. Lehigh is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Bethlehem. A Best Colleges rank of #51 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Lehigh is a great university overall.

There were roughly 25 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at Lehigh in the most recent year we have data available.

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

4
Drexel crest
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In PA
128 Child Development Degrees Awarded

It's hard to beat Drexel University if you wish to pursue a degree in child development & psychology. Drexel is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. This university ranks 10th out of 103 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were roughly 128 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at Drexel in the most recent year we have data available.

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

5
Lafayette crest
Lafayette College
Easton, PA

Located in the suburb of Easton, Lafayette is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 14th out of 103 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.More information about a degree in child development & psychology from Lafayette College

6
Gettysburg crest
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
51 Child Development Degrees Awarded
29.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the fringe town of Gettysburg, Gettysburg is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 16th out of 103 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were approximately 51 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at Gettysburg in the most recent data year. Those child development & psychology students who get their degree from Gettysburg College earn $2,867 more than the standard child development graduate.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from Gettysburg College

7
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$39,218 Median Starting Salary

Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Villanova is a great university overall.

There were approximately 19 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at Villanova in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, child development degree recipients generally earn about $39,218 at the beginning of their careers.

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

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
Duquesne crest
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In PA

Duquesne is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. This university ranks 12th out of 103 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were approximately 12 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at Duquesne in the most recent year we have data available.

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

9
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15th Most Popular In PA
85.7% Growth in Graduates

Temple is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Philadelphia. This university ranks 8th out of 103 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were about 14 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at Temple in the most recent year we have data available.

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

Best Child Development & Psychology Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Child Development & Psychology Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New York 333 1,806
Maryland 279 128
New Jersey 273 546
District of Columbia 188 192
Delaware 175 210

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
Other Research & Experimental Psychology 891
Developmental & Child Psychology 75
Social Psychology 67
Experimental Psychology 51
Behavioral Neuroscience 28
Psychopharmacology 2

View All Child Development Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
General Psychology 4,919
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 1,634
Other Psychology 64

View All Child Development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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