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2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Child Development & Psychology in California

10 Ranked Colleges
79 Degrees Awarded
$58,139 Avg Salary
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2020-2021, 17,542 people earned their degree in child development and psychology, making the major the 57th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, child development and psychology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $34,186 and had an average of $22,623 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 4,035 child development and psychology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,767 and $17,012 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 79 child development and psychology graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,525 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in child development and psychology. That schools that top this list have a program in child development and psychology in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California” list to help you make the college 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California”.

Top 10 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Child Development & Psychology in California

1

Out of the 10 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of Integral Studies landed the #1 spot on the list. San Francisco, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s child development degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.4% 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 Child Development & Psychology at CIIS

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California list. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 17 doctorate’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Child Development & Psychology at University of California - Riverside

3
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, California

Out of the 10 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #3 spot on the list. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Stanford, California. It awarded 9 doctorate’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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.

Read full report on Child Development & Psychology at Stanford University

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California list. University of California - Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 18 doctorate’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Child Development & Psychology at UC Berkeley

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California list. UC Irvine is a large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 10 doctorate’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Child Development & Psychology at UC Irvine

6

With a ranking of #6, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California list. Located in Santa Barbara, California, this large public school awarded 5 degrees to qualified doctorate’s child development students in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UCSB Child Development & Psychology Report

7
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California ranking. University of Southern California is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 9 doctorate’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Child Development & Psychology at USC

8

University of California - San Diego ranked #8 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California list. UCSD is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 3 doctorate’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full UCSD Child Development & Psychology Report

9
Meridian University crest
Meridian University
Petaluma, California

Meridian University ranked #9 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California list. Meridian University is located in Petaluma, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 0 doctorate’s child development degrees to qualified students.

Read more about Child Development & Psychology at Meridian University

9
Loma Linda University crest
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda, California

Loma Linda University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Child Development Major in California ranking, coming in at #9. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Loma Linda, California. It awarded 0 doctorate’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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 full report on Child Development & Psychology at Loma Linda University

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