Post job

Child care center administrator education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a child care center administrator. Child care center administrators usually study business, early childhood education, or psychology. 58% of child care center administrators hold a bachelor's degree, and 16% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 256 real child care center administrator resumes to see exactly what child care center administrator education sections show.

The most common colleges for child care center administrators are the Miami University and the Miami University.

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

What education do you need to become a child care center administrator?

What degree do you need to be a child care center administrator?

The most common degree for child care center administrators is bachelor's degree, with 58% of child care center administrators earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 16% and associate degree degree at 13%.
  • Bachelor's, 58%
  • Associate, 16%
  • Master's, 13%
  • High School Diploma, 7%
  • Other Degrees, 6%

What should I major in to become a child care center administrator?

You should major in business to become a child care center administrator. 19% of child care center administrators major in business. Other common majors for a child care center administrator include early childhood education and psychology.

Most common colleges for child care center administrators

Child care center administrators often get their degrees at Miami University, Texas State University, and University of Wisconsin Colleges. Here are the most common colleges for child care center administrators in the US based on their resumes.
Child care center administrator common collegePercentages
Miami University8.57%
Texas State University8.57%
University of Wisconsin Colleges5.71%
Southern Connecticut State University5.71%
Wayne State University5.71%

Best majors for child care center administrators

Best colleges for child care center administrators

The best colleges for child care center administrators are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and University of Southern California.

A child care center administrator 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 center administrators. 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 center administrators.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

3. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

4. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

5. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

6. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

8. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

9. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

In-state tuition

$17,653

Enrollment

16,405

10. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

20 best online courses for child care center administrators

Advertising disclosure

1. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care

coursera

This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...

2. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course

coursera

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...

3. Providing Trauma-Informed Care

udemy
4.7
(1,276)

Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...

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

udemy
4.6
(466)

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

5. Trauma Emergencies and Care

coursera

Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...

6. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children

coursera

Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...

7. The Key to Happiness: Self Care

udemy
4.6
(413)

Discover Self Care as a tool for creating positive change in your mental health, behaviours, and well-being...

8. Coping Skills and Self-Care for Mental Health

udemy
4.5
(443)

Essential skills to manage intense emotions and develop a self-care practice to promote mental health...

9. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff

coursera

Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...

10. Health for All Through Primary Health Care

coursera

This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...

11. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer

udemy
4.7
(18,204)

Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...

12. Fully Accredited Professional Child Psychology Diploma

udemy
4.3
(1,436)

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

13. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes

coursera

COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...

14. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care

coursera

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...

15. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative

coursera

Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...

16. Thinking About Care

coursera

Although all humans require care to develop and thrive, it is rarely the focus of academic studies. This course enriches learner’s understanding of this critical yet underappreciated facet of their lives by addressing such questions as: What is care? Who has traditionally provided it? How valued is care work? Does money take the care out of care work? In addition to advancing learner’s knowledge of the place of care in modern society and controversies surrounding it, Thinking About Care will...

17. The Critical Role of IT Support Staff in Healthcare

coursera

This is a very exciting time to be exploring a career in Health IT Support! In this introductory course, you’ll learn about various roles in IT support that are common in healthcare. IT support staff play critical roles in many different healthcare venues. In addition to helping clinics, hospitals, and emergency rooms, you may end up providing support in a skilled nursing facility, ambulatory surgical center, virtual care setting, or even a patient’s home! On any given day, you may interact...

18. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations

coursera

Have you ever needed health care and thought that there must be better ways to get or deliver health care? For example, have you found yourself thinking that there should be a way to get a diagnostic test or treatment at home? Or do you work in a healthcare organization and find yourself thinking that there must be better ways to deliver health care? If you have, this course is for you. Course content includes an overview of health care delivery including healthcare consumerism, the patient's...

19. Health Care IT: Challenges and Opportunities

coursera

A strong argument can be made that the health care field is one of the most information-intensive sectors in the U.S. economy and avoidance of the rapid advances in information technology is no longer an option. Consequently, the study of health care information technology and systems has become central to health care delivery effectiveness. This course covers the modern application of information technology that is critical to supporting the vision and operational knowledge of the health care...

20. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers

coursera

This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...

Top 10 most affordable universities for child care center administrators

The most affordable schools for child care center administrators are Baruch College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and california state university - bakersfield.

If the best universities for child care center administrators 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 center administrators.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

4. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

5. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

6. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

7. Lehman College of the City University of New York

Bronx, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,210

Cost of attendance

14,359

8. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

9. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

10. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for child care center administrators

The hardest universities for child care center administrators to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and University of Southern California.

Some great schools for child care center administrators 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 center administrators 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. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

4. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

5. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

6. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

7. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

8. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

9. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

10. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for child care center administrators

The easiest schools for child care center administrators to get into are D'Youville College, mount saint mary's university, and gwynedd mercy university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a child care center administrator 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 center administrators.

1. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

2. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

3. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

4. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

5. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

6. Ottawa University

Ottawa, KS • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,024

7. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

8. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

9. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

10. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

Average child care center administrator salary by education level

Child care center administrators with a Doctorate degree earn more than those without, at $80,277 annually. With a Master's degree, child care center administrators earn a median annual income of $69,805 compared to $57,193 for child care center administrators with an Bachelor's degree.
Child care center administrator education levelChild care center administrator salary
Master's Degree$69,805
Bachelor's Degree$57,193
Doctorate Degree$80,277

Child care center administrator education FAQs

Search for child care center administrator jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

Browse executive management jobs