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Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

73 Colleges
$12,855 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$61,137 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Education Graduate Certificate School for You

In 2020-2021, 199,724 education students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #3 most popular in the country.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 73 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value graduate certificate programs for education students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Education Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

Wisconsin Lutheran College

Milwaukee, WI

Our analysis found Wisconsin Lutheran College to be the best value school for education students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the Great Lakes Region . WLC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Milwaukee.

WLC graduate students pay an average of $10,080 in tuition and fees each year.

WLC also made our Best Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, coming in at #4.

Full Education at Wisconsin Lutheran College Report

#2

Viterbo University

La Crosse, WI

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Viterbo University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Viterbo is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of La Crosse.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Viterbo are $9,488 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Viterbo also is in the top 20% of our Best Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Full Education at Viterbo University Report

#3

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Concordia University, Chicago. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Concordia University, Chicago are $9,378 per year.

Read full report on Education at Concordia University, Chicago

#4

Ferris State University

Big Rapids, MI

Out of the 73 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Ferris State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the distant town of Big Rapids, Ferris is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Ferris are $8,232 a year.

Full Education at Ferris State University Report

#5

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Olivet Nazarene University is a great value for education students working on their graduate certificate. Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Bourbonnais.

Olivet Nazarene graduate students pay an average of $12,190 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Olivet Nazarene also is in the top 10% of our Best Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read full report on Education at Olivet Nazarene University

Illinois State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Illinois State are $11,773 a year.

Full Education at Illinois State University Report

With a ranking of #7, Baldwin Wallace University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the suburb of Berea, Baldwin Wallace College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Baldwin Wallace College are $11,363 a year.

Read More…

University of St Francis came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Saint Francis are $13,839 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, University of Saint Francis also is in the top 10% of our Best Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Full Education at University of St Francis Report

#9

McKendree University

Lebanon, IL

McKendree University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Lebanon, McKendree is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at McKendree are $9,756 a year.

Read full report on Education at McKendree University

Concordia University, Wisconsin landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate education programs. Concordia University, Wisconsin is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Mequon.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Concordia University, Wisconsin are $11,760 a year.

Concordia University, Wisconsin also claimed a spot on our Best Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Full Education at Concordia University, Wisconsin Report

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great value schools for Education graduate students in the Great Lakes Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
11 Marian University Fond Du Lac, WI
12 Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH
13 National Louis University Chicago, IL
14 Valparaiso University Valparaiso, IN

Best Education Colleges by State

Explore the best education colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Illinois 6,636
Indiana 8,353
Ohio 3,830
Wisconsin 2,679
Michigan 2,978

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

Majors Similar to Education

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.

  • 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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