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2024 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Pennsylvania

37 Colleges in Pennsylvania
1,764 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.

College Factual looked at 37 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,764 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 Pennsylvania 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

Associate Degrees in Child development
Bachelor's Degrees in Child development
Master's Degrees in Child development

The child development school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Early Childhood Education Schools in Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania

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 Pennsylvania Schools in Child development

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In PA
264 Child development Degrees Awarded

West Chester University of Pennsylvania is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in early childhood education. Located in the suburb of West Chester, WCUPA is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #241 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means WCUPA is a great university overall.

There were about 264 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at WCUPA in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from West Chester University of Pennsylvania

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
28th Most Popular In PA
28.6% Growth in Graduates

Widener University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in early childhood education. Located in the suburb of Chester, Widener is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #275 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Widener is a great university overall.

There were approximately 28 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Widener in the most recent data year.

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

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In PA
68 Child development Degrees Awarded

It's hard to beat Kutztown University of Pennsylvania if you want to pursue a degree in early childhood education. Located in the fringe town of Kutztown, Kutztown University is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 43rd out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were about 68 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Kutztown University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

4
Messiah crest
Messiah University
Mechanicsburg, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
30th Most Popular In PA

It is hard to beat Messiah University if you want to pursue a degree in early childhood education. Located in the suburb of Mechanicsburg, Messiah is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #555 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Messiah is a great university overall.

There were about 13 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Messiah in the most recent year we have data available.

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

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
27th Most Popular In PA
22.2% Growth in Graduates

LVC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small suburb of Annville. A Best Colleges rank of #621 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means LVC is a great college overall.

There were roughly 27 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at LVC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Lebanon Valley College

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
21st Most Popular In PA

Located in the city of Scranton, University of Scranton is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #269 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means University of Scranton is a great university overall.

There were about 25 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at University of Scranton in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from University of Scranton

7
Duquesne crest
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In PA
75 Child development Degrees Awarded

Duquesne is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #228 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Duquesne is a great university overall.

There were approximately 75 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Duquesne in the most recent year we have data available.

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

8
Etown crest
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
35th Most Popular In PA
28.6% Growth in Graduates

Etown is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Elizabethtown. A Best Colleges rank of #537 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Etown is a great college overall.

There were approximately 21 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Etown in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Elizabethtown College

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In PA
79 Child development Degrees Awarded

Millersville is a moderately-sized public university located in the large suburb of Millersville. This university ranks 50th out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were roughly 79 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at Millersville in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Millersville University of Pennsylvania

10
CHC crest
Chestnut Hill College
Philadelphia, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In PA
38 Child development Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Philadelphia, CHC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 65th out of 109 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were roughly 38 early childhood education students who graduated with this degree at CHC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in early childhood education from Chestnut Hill College

Best Early Childhood Education Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

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

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
New York1,026900
Maryland618485
New Jersey614150
District of Columbia44128
Delaware34561

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
Secondary Education674
Elementary Education604
Teacher Education441
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education & Teaching248
Teacher Development & Methodology233
Adult & Continuing Education91
Kindergarten/Preschool Education & Teaching48
Online Educator/Online Teaching29
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Methods28
Montessori Teacher Education5

View All Child development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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