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2023 Most Popular Master’s Degree Colleges for Early Childhood Education in California

13 Ranked Colleges
170 Degrees Awarded
$28,700 Avg Cost*
Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master's

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2020-2021, 32,920 people earned their degree in early childhood education, making the major the 34th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 4,885 early childhood education graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 170 early childhood education graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,974 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer a degree in early childhood education. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular early childhood education programs in the United States.

For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s”.

1
Pacific Oaks College crest
Pacific Oaks College
Pasadena, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Pacific Oaks College. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s. This small school is located in Pasadena, California, and it awarded 55 masters’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at Pacific Oaks College

2
National University crest
National University
La Jolla, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend National University. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s. National University is a fairly large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 37 masters’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at National University

3
SDSU crest
San Diego State University
San Diego, California

Out of the 13 schools in the Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #3 spot on the list. San Diego State University is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 26 masters’s child development degrees to qualified students.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full SDSU Early Childhood Education Report

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - East Bay. The school came in at #4 for the Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s. Cal State East Bay is a public institution located in Hayward, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 13 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at Cal State East Bay

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Los Angeles. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s list. Cal State LA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal State LA Early Childhood Education Report

6

With a ranking of #6, California State University - San Bernardino did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s list. CSUSB is a fairly large school located in San Bernardino, California that handed out 9 masters’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at California State University - San Bernardino

7
San Jose State crest
San Jose State University
San Jose, California

San Jose State University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s ranking. San Jose State is a large school located in San Jose, California that handed out 5 masters’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Full San Jose State University Early Childhood Education Report

7

California State University - Stanislaus ranked #7 on this year’s Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s list. Stan State is a public institution located in Turlock, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 5 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at Stan State

9
Mills crest
Mills College
Oakland, California

Mills College landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s ranking. Located in Oakland, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 3 diplomas to qualified masters’s child development students in 2020-2021.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Mills Early Childhood Education Report

10

Saint Mary’s College of California ranked #10 on this year’s Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s list. Moraga, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s child development degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at SMC

10

California State University - Sacramento ranked #10 on this year’s Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s list. Sacramento, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s child development degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Sac State Early Childhood Education Report

12
Biola crest
Biola University
La Mirada, California

Biola University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s ranking. La Mirada, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s child development degrees to 1 students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Biola University

13
AJU crest
American Jewish University
Los Angeles, California

With a ranking of #13, American Jewish University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Child development Major in California for a Master’s list. American Jewish University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 26 masters’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at AJU

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