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Child care center director education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a child care center director. Child care center directors usually study early childhood education, nursing, or human development. 50% of child care center directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 21% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 656 real child care center director resumes to see exactly what child care center director education sections show.
The most common colleges for child care center directors are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online child care center director courses to help get the education required to be a child care center director.
What education do you need to become a child care center director?
What degree do you need to be a child care center director?
- Bachelor's, 50%
- Associate, 21%
- Master's, 19%
- High School Diploma, 5%
- Other Degrees, 5%
What should I major in to become a child care center director?
- Nursing, 13%
- Human Development, 10%
- Other Majors, 50%
Most common colleges for child care center directors
| Child care center director common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 11.76% |
| Ashford University | 10.29% |
| Temple University | 5.88% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 5.88% |
| The University of Tennessee - Knoxville | 5.88% |
Best majors for child care center directors
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Early Childhood Education | 18.0% |
| 2 | Nursing | 12.8% |
| 3 | Human Development | 10.4% |
| 4 | Elementary Education | 9.3% |
| 5 | Business | 8.4% |
Best colleges for child care center directors
The best colleges for child care center directors are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and University of Southern California.
A child care center director 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 directors. 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 directors.
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 at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$9,808
Enrollment
13,990
4. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,308
Enrollment
6,819
5. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
6. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
7. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
9. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$13,226
Enrollment
31,568
10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
20 best online courses for child care center directors
Advertising disclosure
1. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
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
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
Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...
4. Fully Accredited Professional Child Psychology Diploma
Learn or Specialise Your Therapy in Child Psychology with this Fully Accredited Diploma Course...
5. Trauma Emergencies and Care
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
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...
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8. Introduction to Child Psychology - ACCREDITED CERTIFICATE
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9. Health for All Through Primary Health Care
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...
10. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative
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...
11. The Key to Happiness: Self Care
Discover Self Care as a tool for creating positive change in your mental health, behaviours, and well-being...
12. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer
Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...
13. 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...
14. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff
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...
15. Coping Skills and Self-Care for Mental Health
Essential skills to manage intense emotions and develop a self-care practice to promote mental health...
16. Health Care IT: Challenges and Opportunities
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...
17. Thinking About Care
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...
18. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations
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. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
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20. Kids with Cancer Still Need School: The Providers Role
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Top 10 most affordable universities for child care center directors
The most affordable schools for child care center directors 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 directors 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 directors.
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 - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
5. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
6. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
7. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
8. USF Sarasota-Manatee
Sarasota, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,587
Cost of attendance
13,043
9. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
10. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for child care center directors
The hardest universities for child care center directors to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and University of Southern California.
Some great schools for child care center directors 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 directors 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. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
5. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
6. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,407
7. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
8. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
42%
SAT average
1,380
9. University of Rochester
Rochester, NY • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,422
10. Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA • Private
Admissions rate
28%
SAT average
1,429
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for child care center directors
The easiest schools for child care center directors to get into are D'Youville College, wayland baptist 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 director 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 directors.
1. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
2. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
3. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
4. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
5. Curry College
Milton, MA • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,026
6. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
7. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
8. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
9. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
10. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
Average child care center director salary by education level
| Child care center director education level | Child care center director salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $86,444 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $65,013 |
| Doctorate Degree | $105,568 |
Child care center director education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025