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2023 Best Education Master's Degree Schools

808 Colleges
$49,367 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Education Master's Degree School for You

With 199,724 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, education is the #3 most popular major in the United States.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Education Master's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 808 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Education Master’s Degree Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for education majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Education

Our 2023 rankings named Claremont Graduate University the best school in the United States for education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont Graduate University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Education at Claremont Graduate University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Bank Street College of Education. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Education Master’s Degree Schools list. Bank Street College of Education is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

Read full report on Education at Bank Street College of Education

#3

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

The excellent master’s degree programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best education schools in the United States. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

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Out of the 808 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Teachers College at Columbia University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large city of New York, Teachers College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Education at Teachers College at Columbia University Report

#5

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Education Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Education at Stanford University Report

#6

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

With a ranking of #6, Santa Clara University did quite well on this year’s best schools for education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Education at Santa Clara University Report

#7

Lebanon Valley College

Annville, PA

Lebanon Valley College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree education programs. LVC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Annville.

Read full report on Education at Lebanon Valley College

University of Washington - Tacoma Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. UW Tacoma is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Tacoma.

Read full report on Education at University of Washington - Tacoma Campus

#9

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Education Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

Read full report on Education at University of Pennsylvania

Fresno Pacific University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Education Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno Pacific is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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Concordia University, Irvine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Concordia University, Irvine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.

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#12

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

With a ranking of #12, Brandman University did quite well on this year’s best schools for education students working on their master’s degree. Brandman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.

Read full report on Education at Brandman University

#13

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree education programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Education at Brown University

#14

Seattle University

Seattle, WA

Seattle University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the city of Seattle, Seattle U is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Education at Seattle University

The College of New Jersey landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree education programs. TCNJ is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Ewing.

Read full report on Education at The College of New Jersey

#16

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Education Master’s Degree Schools list. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.

Read full report on Education at Harvard University

University of California - Irvine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. UC Irvine is a very large public school located in the city of Irvine.

Read full report on Education at University of California - Irvine

With a ranking of #18, Seattle Pacific University did quite well on this year’s best schools for education students working on their master’s degree. SPU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Seattle.

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University of Puget Sound came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Education Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Puget Sound is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Tacoma.

Full Education at University of Puget Sound Report

#20

University of Redlands

Redlands, CA

University of Redlands landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree education programs. University of Redlands is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Redlands.

Full Education at University of Redlands Report

#21

Wisconsin Lutheran College

Milwaukee, WI

Wisconsin Lutheran College came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Education Master’s Degree Schools ranking. WLC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Milwaukee.

Full Education at Wisconsin Lutheran College Report

#22

Drake University

Des Moines, IA

Drake University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Education Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Education at Drake University

#23

University of Scranton

Scranton, PA

University of Scranton ranked #23 on this year’s Best Education Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Scranton, University of Scranton is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #24 on this year’s Best Education Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a very large student population.

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#25

Stevenson University

Stevenson, MD

Stevenson University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Education Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Stevenson is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Stevenson.

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Rest of the Top 50 Best Education Master's Degree Schools

#26

Wagner College

Staten Island, NY
#27

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD
#30

Trinity University

San Antonio, TX
#31

Berry College

Mount Berry, GA
#32

Elizabethtown College

Elizabethtown, PA
#33

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA
#34

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC
#35

Manhattan College

Riverdale, NY
#36

Westminster College Pennsylvania

New Wilmington, PA
#37

Northwestern College

Orange City, IA
#38

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN
#39

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, CA
#42

Alfred University

Alfred, NY
#43

Loyola University Maryland

Baltimore, MD
#44

Gonzaga University

Spokane, WA
#45

North Central College

Naperville, IL
#47

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA
#48

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA
#50

Whitworth University

Spokane, WA

Additional Award Winners

This list shows the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Education Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 808 different United States education schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Saint Martin’s University Lacey, WA
52 New York University New York, NY
53 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
54 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA
55 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
56 University of St Thomas Minnesota Saint Paul, MN
57 Carroll University Waukesha, WI
58 California State University - San Marcos San Marcos, CA
59 Villanova University Villanova, PA
60 Saint Joseph’s University Philadelphia, PA
61 University of Delaware Newark, DE
62 Creighton University Omaha, NE
63 Martin Luther College New Ulm, MN
64 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
65 Carthage College Kenosha, WI
66 Northern State University Aberdeen, SD
67 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
68 Winona State University Winona, MN
69 University of Mary Bismarck, ND
70 Centenary University Hackettstown, NJ
71 Notre Dame de Namur University Belmont, CA
72 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
73 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
74 California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA
75 Bradley University Peoria, IL
76 George Washington University Washington, DC
77 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
78 University of Washington - Bothell Campus Bothell, WA
79 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
80 Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
81 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
82 California Baptist University Riverside, CA
83 Pace University - New York New York, NY
84 Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA
85 University of Georgia Athens, GA
86 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
87 University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA
88 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
89 Lewis University Romeoville, IL
90 Montclair State University Montclair, NJ
91 Dominican University of California San Rafael, CA
92 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
93 University of Wisconsin - La Crosse La Crosse, WI
94 Buena Vista University Storm Lake, IA
95 Pacific Oaks College Pasadena, CA
96 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
97 California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
98 American University Washington, DC
99 Valparaiso University Valparaiso, IN
100 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
101 Dominican College of Blauvelt Orangeburg, NY
102 Towson University Towson, MD
103 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
104 Dominican University River Forest, IL
105 National University La Jolla, CA
106 Providence College Providence, RI
107 Wayne State College Wayne, NE
108 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
109 University of the Pacific Stockton, CA
110 Fordham University Bronx, NY
111 Olivet Nazarene University Bourbonnais, IL
112 Viterbo University La Crosse, WI
113 University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA
114 Minot State University Minot, ND
115 Ball State University Muncie, IN
116 Fairfield University Fairfield, CT
117 University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln, NE
118 John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR
119 Aurora University Aurora, IL
120 University of San Diego San Diego, CA
121 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Education students that almost earned our Best Education Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
122 Rowan University Glassboro, NJ
123 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
124 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
125 West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA
126 Rider University Lawrenceville, NJ
127 Boston University Boston, MA
128 Hunter College New York, NY
129 University of Wisconsin - River Falls River Falls, WI
130 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
131 Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ
132 California State University - Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA
133 Doane University Crete, NE
134 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
135 Hood College Frederick, MD
136 Ithaca College Ithaca, NY
137 North Dakota State University - Main Campus Fargo, ND
138 South Dakota State University Brookings, SD
139 St John’s University - New York Queens, NY
140 The College of Saint Rose Albany, NY
141 Western Governors University Salt Lake City, UT
142 McDaniel College Westminster, MD
143 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
144 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
144 California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA
146 Stockton University Galloway, NJ
147 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
148 Heritage University Toppenish, WA
149 The City College of New York New York, NY
150 Bethel University Minnesota Saint Paul, MN
151 Goucher College Baltimore, MD
152 The College of Saint Scholastica Duluth, MN
153 Chadron State College Chadron, NE
154 California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA
155 Hamline University Saint Paul, MN
156 Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL
157 Ramapo College of New Jersey Mahwah, NJ
158 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
159 Dordt University Sioux Center, IA
160 Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA
161 Monmouth University West Long Branch, NJ

Education by Region

View the Best Education Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Education Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Educational Administration 45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific 34,451
Special Education 25,158
General Education 21,189
Teacher Education Subject Specific 20,616
Curriculum & Instruction 19,784
Student Counseling 13,840
Instructional Media Design 8,387
Teaching English or French 4,743
Other Education 2,513
Multilingual Education 1,672
Educational Assessment 1,215
Education Philosophy 421
International Education 257
Teaching Assistants 20

Related Major Annual Graduates
Psychology 42,013
Social Sciences 22,292
Communication & Journalism 12,242
Library Science 5,929
History 4,391

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 Horadrim.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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