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Developmental & Child Psychology

Types of Degrees Developmental & Child Psychology Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Developmental & Child Psychology can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	5
Bachelor’s Degree	586
Master’s Degree	1,112
Doctor’s Degree	117

What Developmental & Child Psychology Majors Need to Know

Programs in Developmental & Child Psychology develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Developmental & Child Psychology graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Developmental & Child Psychology emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a Developmental & Child Psychology program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Developmental & Child Psychology careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Developmental & Child Psychology graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.4 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7
Working with Computers	4.3 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.2 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Developmental & Child Psychology professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Project	Project management software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Developmental & Child Psychology graduates include:

• Assistant Professor
• Educational Psychology Professor
• College Faculty Member
• Faculty Member
• Teacher
• Educational Psychology Teacher
• Associate Professor
• School Psychology Professor
• Applied Psychology Teacher
• Adjunct Instructor
• Psychology Lecturer
• Applied Psychology Professor
• Lecturer
• Abnormal Psychology Teacher
• Human Relations Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Developmental & Child Psychology graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	42.3%
Doctoral degree	17.8%
Master’s degree	12.0%
Post-doctoral training	10.7%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	6.2%
High school diploma or equivalent	4.2%
Postsecondary certificate	2.7%
Some college courses	2.1%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.7%
Post-master’s certificate	0.3%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Developmental & Child Psychology?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 88.2% of Developmental & Child Psychology degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,606	88.2%
Men	214	11.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Developmental & Child Psychology graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	843	46.3%
Asian	150	8.2%
Hispanic or Latino	231	12.7%
Black or African American	221	12.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	5	0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.1%
Two or More Races	69	3.8%
Race Unknown	48	2.6%
International Students	252	13.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Developmental & Child Psychology Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Developmental & Child Psychology graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$34,814
4 years	$50,900
5 years	$59,985

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $59,985 — roughly 72% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Developmental & Child Psychology Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Developmental & Child Psychology. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	1	3
Master’s	4	2
Doctoral (Research)	2	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Developmental & Child Psychology Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Developmental & Child Psychology graduates earn a median of $50,900 four years after completion — roughly 34% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Research and Experimental Psychology	42.27
Behavioral Neuroscience	42.2706
Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics	42.2701
Comparative Psychology	42.2702
Developmental and Adolescent Psychology	42.2710
Experimental Psychology	42.2704
Personality Psychology	42.2705
Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology	42.2708
Psychopharmacology	42.2709
Research and Experimental Psychology, Other	42.2799
Social Psychology	42.2707
Applied Behavior Analysis	42.2814

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.