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2024 Best Child Development & Psychology Master's Degree Schools

89 Colleges in the United States
1,686 Master's Degrees
$49,734 Avg Early-Career Salary
Child Development & Psychology is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #80 most popular master's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual reviewed 89 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of child development & psychology. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,686 master's degrees in child development & psychology during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Child Development & Psychology School for Your Master's Degree

Best Child Development & Psychology Master's Degree Schools Your choice of child development & psychology for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality child development program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for child development & psychology students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Child Development Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Child Development & Psychology Master's Degree Schools.


 

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Child Development & Psychology in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in child development & psychology. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

13 Top Schools for a Master's in Child Development

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
64 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat University of Pennsylvania if you want to pursue a master's degree in child development & psychology. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from University of Pennsylvania

2
23 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Chicago if you want to pursue a master's degree in child development & psychology. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from University of Chicago

3
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
17 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in child development & psychology has to check out Harvard University. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cambridge.More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from Harvard University

4
10 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat Washington University in St Louis if you wish to pursue a master's degree in child development & psychology. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from Washington University in St Louis

5
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
8 Annual Graduates

Princeton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Princeton.More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from Princeton University

6
9 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from Columbia University in the City of New York

7
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY

Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the child development program make about $50,158 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from New York University

8
14 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from University of Notre Dame

9
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
6 Annual Graduates

Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville.More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from Vanderbilt University

10
16 Annual Graduates

Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Ithaca.More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from Cornell University

11

Located in the city of New York, Teachers College is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Master's students who receive their degree from the child development program earn about $42,397 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from Teachers College at Columbia University

12
35 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Bronx, Fordham U is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from Fordham University

13
11 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Storrs, UCONN is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in child development & psychology from University of Connecticut

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Child Development & Psychology Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
14 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
15 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
16 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
17 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
18 University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA
19 Montclair State University Montclair, NJ
20 Tufts University Medford, MA
21 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
22 George Washington University Washington, DC

Child Development & Psychology by Region

View the Best Child Development & Psychology Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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

Child Development Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Developmental & Child Psychology 694
Other Research & Experimental Psychology 443
Experimental Psychology 343
Psychometrics & Quantitative Psychology 53
Behavioral Neuroscience 41
Social Psychology 41
Cognitive Psychology & Psycholinguistics 31
Comparative Psychology 24
Psychopharmacology 11
Personality Psychology 5

Related Major Annual Graduates
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 22,477
General Psychology 6,330
Other Psychology 1,777

Notes and References

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