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2024 Best Child Development & Psychology Schools in California

18 Colleges in California
4,035 Child Development Degrees Awarded
$37,767 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in child development & psychology, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #57 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 18 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of child development & psychology. Combined, these schools handed out 4,035 degrees in child development & psychology to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Child Development & Psychology School

Best Child Development & Psychology Schools in California 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 Child Development & Psychology rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for child development & psychology schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Child Development & Psychology Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Child Development
Master's Degrees in Child Development
Doctor's Degrees in Child Development

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Child Development & Psychology Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Child Development & Psychology in California

The schools below may not offer all types of child development degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top California Schools in Child Development

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
800 Child Development Degrees Awarded
10.0% Growth in Graduates

University of California - Irvine is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in child development & psychology. UC Irvine is a very large public university located in the large city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were roughly 800 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the child development program earn about $27,585 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of California - Irvine

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In CA

University of Southern California is a good option for students pursuing a degree in child development & psychology. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 9 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of Southern California

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
578 Child Development Degrees Awarded
$28,978 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in child development & psychology has to look into University of California - Santa Barbara. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were about 578 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the child development program earn an average of $28,978 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of California - Santa Barbara

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
326 Child Development Degrees Awarded
11.0% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of California - Berkeley if you wish to pursue a degree in child development & psychology. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 326 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, child development degree recipients usually make around $30,168 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of California - Berkeley

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
879 Child Development Degrees Awarded
8.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were approximately 879 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Those child development & psychology students who get their degree from University of California - Davis receive $6,233 more than the average child development student.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of California - Davis

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
85 Child Development Degrees Awarded
$29,604 Median Starting Salary

UCSD is a very large public university located in the large city of La Jolla. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were approximately 85 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the child development program report average early career income of $29,604.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of California - San Diego

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
432 Child Development Degrees Awarded
7.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 432 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the child development program earn about $24,474 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of California - Los Angeles

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
624 Child Development Degrees Awarded
$23,518 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Riverside, UCR is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 36th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 624 child development & psychology students who graduated with this degree at UCR in the most recent data year. After graduating, child development degree recipients typically earn an average of $23,518 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in child development & psychology from University of California - Riverside

9
Oxy crest
Occidental College
Los Angeles, CA

Oxy is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #180 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Oxy is a great college overall.More information about a degree in child development & psychology from Occidental College

10

Located in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont Graduate University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #185 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Claremont Graduate University is a great university overall.More information about a degree in child development & psychology from Claremont Graduate University


 

Best Child Development & Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Child Development & Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 672
Oregon 266 5
Nevada 192 50

View All Rankings >

Child Development & Psychology is one of 24 different types of Psychology programs to choose from.

Child Development Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Other Research & Experimental Psychology 2,420
Behavioral Neuroscience 600
Experimental Psychology 455
Social Psychology 391
Developmental & Child Psychology 125
Cognitive Psychology & Psycholinguistics 38
Psychopharmacology 6

View All Child Development Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
General Psychology 29,992
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 6,163
Other Psychology 398

View All Child Development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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