Child care aide education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a child care aide. Child care aides usually study psychology, business, or criminal justice. 43% of child care aides hold a bachelor's degree, and 25% hold an high school diploma. We analyzed 2,544 real child care aide resumes to see exactly what child care aide education sections show.

The most common colleges for child care aides are the SUNY Buffalo State and the SUNY Buffalo State.

There are also many online child care aide courses to help get the education required to be a child care aide.

There are certain child care aide certifications that you should consider. These child care aide certifications include Advanced First Aid & CPR and Medical Assistant.

What education do you need to become a child care aide?

What degree do you need to be a child care aide?

The most common degree for child care aides is bachelor's degree, with 43% of child care aides earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are high school diploma degree at 25% and high school diploma degree at 19%.

Bachelor's, 43%

High School Diploma, 25%

Associate, 19%

Diploma, 5%

Other Degrees, 8%

What should I major in to become a child care aide?

You should major in psychology to become a child care aide. 15% of child care aides major in psychology. Other common majors for a child care aide include business and criminal justice.

Psychology, 15%

Business, 9%

Criminal Justice, 7%

General Studies, 6%

Other Majors, 63%

Most common colleges for child care aides

Child care aides often get their degrees at SUNY Buffalo State, University of Phoenix, and University of South Florida. Here are the most common colleges for child care aides in the US based on their resumes.

Child care aide common college	Percentages
SUNY Buffalo State	13.74%
University of Phoenix	10.69%
University of South Florida	5.34%
Michigan State University	5.34%
Arizona State University	5.34%

Show more common child care aide colleges

Best majors for child care aides

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Psychology	14.6%
2	Business	9.0%
3	Criminal Justice	6.7%
4	General Studies	6.4%
5	Human Development	6.3%

Show more common child care aide majors

Best colleges for child care aides

The best colleges for child care aides are Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, and Johns Hopkins University.

A child care aide with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for child care aides. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become child care aides.

1. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

2. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

3. University of California - Davis

Davis, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$14,402

Enrollment

30,698

4. Clemson University

Clemson, SC • Private

In-state tuition

$15,374

Enrollment

19,564

5. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

6. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

7. San Jose State University

San Jose, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,796

Enrollment

27,125

8. Fairfield University

Fairfield, CT • Private

In-state tuition

$48,350

Enrollment

4,103

9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

10. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

In-state tuition

$17,653

Enrollment

16,405

20 best online courses for child care aides

Advertising disclosure

1. Child Care as a Business

This course is targeted toward individuals wishing to run a home-based child care center. It covers topics such as the fundamentals of an in-home childcare setting as a business; the importance of financial management of a child care center; the creation of a child care contract; and an exploration of how to set tuition rates. Since a Family Policy Handbook is essential for anyone operating a family day care center, this course includes the development of one of three imperative sections of the...

2. Home-Based Child Care

This series of courses is intended to provide learners with the tools to develop and operate a home-based childcare center. Stages of child development, best practices to stimulate learning, important safety measures, and business fundamentals are introduced...

3. Home Health Aide, Nurse Aide, Caregiver Certification Course

4.6

(1,178)

Become A Certified Home Health Aide, Personal Care Aide, Nurse Aide/ Caregiver At The End Of This Course. Enroll Now!!...

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4.5

(1,078)

[Power Shell] Simplified practical knowledge for automation & management of [Active Directory] using Windows Power Shell...

5. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care

In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...

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The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...

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Learn Azure as it pertains to Active Directory...

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Use Power Shell to manage Active Directory users, computer, groups, security settings and more on Windows Server...

13. Azure Active Directory Masterclass

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15. First Aid, and Children's Health: Your Complete Guide

4.5

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Taught by a Doctor: Mandatory first aid course covering all of the common injuries and illnesses especially of children...

16. Fully Accredited Professional Child Psychology Diploma

4.3

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Learn or Specialise Your Therapy in Child Psychology with this Fully Accredited Diploma Course...

17. Pet First Aid (Advanced)

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Learn essential knowledge and skills to be able to confidently carry out emergency first aid on a pet animal...

18. Identity & Access Management - Azure Active Directory

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Learn about Identity, Directory , SAML , OAUTH , Open ID Connect , Identity Security and Azure Active Directory...

19. Active Directory & Group Policy Administration for IT Techs

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Active Directory & Group Policy Administration Basics for Helpdesk and Desktop / IT Support Technicians...

20. Self-Care Life Coach Certification (Boundary Setting)

4.6

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Empower Your Life Coach Your Clients to Develop Self-Care, Self-Love, Boundary Setting and How to Say No...

Top 10 most affordable universities for child care aides

The most affordable schools for child care aides are Hunter College of the City University of New York, california state university - long beach, and university of florida.

If the best universities for child care aides are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for child care aides.

1. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

3. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

4. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

5. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

6. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

7. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

8. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

9. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

10. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for child care aides

The hardest universities for child care aides to get into are Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, and Johns Hopkins University.

Some great schools for child care aides are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for child care aides based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

2. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

3. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

4. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,516

5. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,512

6. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

7. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

Admissions rate

26%

SAT average

1,427

8. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

10. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

Admissions rate

23%

SAT average

1,434

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for child care aides

The easiest schools for child care aides to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, bluefield college, and d'youville college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a child care aide without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for child care aides.

1. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

2. Bluefield College

Bluefield, VA • Private

Admissions rate

95%

SAT average

980

3. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

4. The University of Texas Permian Basin

Odessa, TX • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,046

5. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

6. Pennsylvania State University - Worthington Scranton

Dunmore, PA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

1,056

7. Ottawa University

Ottawa, KS • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,024

8. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

9. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

10. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

Average child care aide salary by education level

According to our data, child care aides with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $33,899 annually. Child care aides with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $31,758.

Child care aide education level	Child care aide salary
Master's Degree	$33,899
High School Diploma or Less	$29,157
Bachelor's Degree	$31,758
Some College/ Associate Degree	$30,382

Child care aide education FAQs

What is the best college for Child Care Aides?

Have more questions? See all answers to common personal care and attendants questions.

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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