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2022 Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California

7 Ranked Colleges
75 Degrees Awarded
$33,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 15,161 people earned their degree in child development and psychology, making the major the 72nd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, child development and psychology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,673 and had an average of $25,889 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 3,820 child development and psychology graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,900 and $17,780 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 75 child development and psychology graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in child development and psychology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent child development and psychology programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the child development and psychology program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california doctor’s degree child development students.

Top 8 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Child Development & Psychology in California

#1

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California. Located in Santa Barbara, California, this large public school awarded 7 degrees to qualified doctorate’s child development students in 2019-2020.

UCSB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Child Development & Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Barbara are $28,670.

Read full report on Child Development & Psychology at University of California - Santa Barbara

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 10 doctorate’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best Child Development & Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Child Development & Psychology at UC Berkeley

#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California list. University of California - San Diego is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 doctorate’s child development degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree child development students list, UCSD has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Child Development & Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - San Diego are $28,631, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Child Development & Psychology at UCSD

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California. University of California - Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 11 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Irvine, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Child Development & Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456.

Read full report on Child Development & Psychology at University of California - Irvine

#7 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Riverside landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school awarded 12 degrees to qualified doctorate’s child development students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree child development students list, UCR has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Child Development & Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Riverside are $28,686.

Full University of California - Riverside Child Development & Psychology Report

#6

California Institute of Integral Studies

San Francisco, California
#8 in overall quality

California Institute of Integral Studies ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California list. California Institute of Integral Studies is a small private not-for-profit school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 1 doctorate’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

CIIS also took the #8 spot in our “Best Child Development & Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at CIIS are $22,188.

Read full report on Child Development & Psychology at CIIS

#6

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#4 in overall quality

University of Southern California did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 14 doctorate’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Child Development & Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full USC Child Development & Psychology Report

#7

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Stanford University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Child Development Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s child development degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

Stanford also made our “Best Child Development & Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011.

Read more about Child Development & Psychology at Stanford

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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