2025 Best Human Development & Family Studies Master's Degree Schools in California

a master's degree in human development & family studies is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #97 out of 343 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Human Development & Family Studies Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 121 master's degrees in human development & family studies during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to human development & family studies students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other human development & family studies students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for human development & family studies to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized human development & family studies related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for human development & family studies students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The human development school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Human Development & Family Studies Master's Degree Schools in California.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Human Development & Family Studies in California

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in human development & family studies.

Top California Schools for a Master's in Human Development

1

University of La Verne
La Verne, CA

57 Annual Graduates

University of La Verne is a great decision for students interested in a master's degree in human development & family studies. Located in the large suburb of La Verne, ULV is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in human development & family studies from University of La Verne

2

Pacific Oaks College
Pasadena, CA

33 Annual Graduates

$53,657 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat Pacific Oaks College if you want to pursue a master's degree in human development & family studies. Located in the city of Pasadena, Pacific Oaks College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Soon after graduating, human development master's recipients typically earn around $53,657 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in human development & family studies from Pacific Oaks College

Best Human Development & Family Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Human Development & Family Studies Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Washington	183	0
Oregon	158	21
Nevada	105	10

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Rankings in Majors Related to Human Development

Human Development & Family Studies is one of 8 different types of Family, Consumer & Human Sciences programs to choose from.

Human Development Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
General Human Development & Family Studies	63
Child Development	44
Child Care & Support Services Management	13
Family & Community Services	1

Most Popular Majors Related to Human Development

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Food, Nutrition & Related Services	16
General Family & Consumer Sciences	11
Textile & Apparel Studies	8

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Jsonin. More about our data sources and methodologies.