Developmental and Child Psychology

Types of Degrees Developmental and Child Psychology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many developmental & child psychology graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,169
Doctor’s Degree	84
Graduate Certificate	64

What Developmental and Child Psychology Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, developmental and child psychology majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Developmental and Child Psychology Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in developmental and child psychology should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Developmental and Child Psychology Majors

developmental and child psychology majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Developmental and Child Psychology Majors

As you progress with your developmental and child psychology degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Developmental and Child Psychology Major?

People with a developmental and child psychology degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Psychology Professors	15.1%	$76,710
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
School Psychologists	14.2%	$76,990

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Developmental and Child Psychology?

This major is dominated by women with about 90% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of developmental and child psychology majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	81
Black or African American	149
Hispanic or Latino	153
White	566
International Students	155
Other Races/Ethnicities	65

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Developmental and Child Psychology, too. About 13.3% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Developmental and Child Psychology

Some degrees associated with developmental and child psychology may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for developmental and child psychology careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.6%
Some College Courses	0.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	35.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.0%
Master’s Degree	19.9%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	10.3%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.1%
Doctoral Degree	16.5%
Post-Doctoral Training	9.3%

Online Developmental and Child Psychology Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	6	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	27	4
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	24	3
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Developmental and Child Psychology

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to developmental and child psychology.

Major	Number of Grads
Other Research & Experimental Psychology	13,458
Experimental Psychology	4,342
Behavioral Neuroscience	1,427
Social Psychology	531
Cognitive Psychology & Psycholinguistics	316
Psychometrics & Quantitative Psychology	105
Psychopharmacology	34
Personality Psychology	21
Comparative Psychology	16

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.