College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Tennessee

11 Colleges in Tennessee
150 Child development Degrees Awarded
Ranked #34 in popularity, early childhood education is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 11 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Tennessee ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 150 degrees in early childhood education during the 2021-2022 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Early Childhood Education School

Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Tennessee The child development program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Early Childhood Education rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for early childhood education 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.

Early Childhood Education Rankings by 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 Early Childhood Education Schools in Tennessee ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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 Early Childhood Education in Tennessee

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 Tennessee Schools in Child development

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In TN

It is difficult to beat The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga if you wish to pursue a degree in early childhood education. UT Chattanooga is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Chattanooga. A Best Colleges rank of #957 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UT Chattanooga is a great university overall.

There were about 16 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at UT Chattanooga in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In TN

Any student pursuing a degree in early childhood education has to look into Middle Tennessee State University. Located in the city of Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee State University is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #866 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Middle Tennessee State University is a great university overall.

There were about 28 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Middle Tennessee State University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Middle Tennessee State University

3
Carson - Newman crest
Carson - Newman University
Jefferson City, TN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In TN
25.0% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in early childhood education has to check out Carson - Newman University. Located in the suburb of Jefferson City, Carson - Newman is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #795 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Carson - Newman is a great university overall.

There were roughly 4 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Carson - Newman in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Carson - Newman University

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In TN

It's difficult to beat Tennessee Technological University if you want to pursue a degree in early childhood education. Located in the town of Cookeville, Tennessee Tech University is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 20th out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were roughly 21 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Tennessee Tech University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Tennessee Technological University

5
Lee University crest
Lee University
Cleveland, TN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In TN
22.2% Growth in Graduates

Lee University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Cleveland. A Best Colleges rank of #950 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Lee University is a great university overall.

There were roughly 9 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Lee University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Lee University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In TN
47.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the town of Henderson, FHU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 25th out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were roughly 17 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at FHU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Freed-Hardeman University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In TN
20.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Memphis, Christian Brothers is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 19th out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were approximately 5 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Christian Brothers in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Christian Brothers University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In TN

ETSU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Johnson City. A Best Colleges rank of #851 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ETSU is a great university overall.

There were about 18 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at ETSU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from East Tennessee State University

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In TN

Located in the city of Nashville, Tennessee State University is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 28th out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were about 3 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Tennessee State University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Tennessee State University

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In TN
66.7% Growth in Graduates

TNU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville. This university ranks 18th out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were about 3 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at TNU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Trevecca Nazarene University

Best Early Childhood Education Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Early Childhood Education Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
Florida7151,201
North Carolina7101,012
Georgia6901,167
Virginia630383
South Carolina530539
Kentucky51883
Mississippi50132
Alabama500276
Louisiana489119
Arkansas466210
West Virginia4104

View All Rankings >

One of 13 majors within the Teacher Education Grade Specific area of study, Early Childhood Education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Child development

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Elementary Education473
Teacher Education467
Secondary Education201
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education & Teaching106
Teacher Development & Methodology104

View All Child development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options