2023 Best General Education Schools
Finding the Best General Education School for You
General Education is the #39 most popular major in the country with 29,810 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.
The Best General Education Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 476 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best General Education Schools in the United States
Check out the education programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools in General Education
Our 2023 rankings named Claremont Graduate University the best school in the United States for general education students. Located in the large suburb of Claremont, Claremont Graduate University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best General Education Schools list. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
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Out of the 476 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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The excellent programs at Bellevue University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in the United States. Located in the suburb of Bellevue, Bellevue University is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
The average amount in student loans that education majors at Bellevue University take out is $25,000.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Florida. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best General Education Schools list. UF is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville.
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With a ranking of #6, Texas Christian University did quite well on this year’s best schools for general education students. Located in the city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Whitworth University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general education students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the suburb of Spokane, Whitworth is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Brandman University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best General Education Schools ranking. Brandman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.
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With a ranking of #9, University of Washington - Bothell Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for general education students. UW Bothell is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Bothell.
After completing their degree, education graduates from UW Bothell carry an average student debtload of $15,752.
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University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general education students. It came in at #10 on the list. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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Brown University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general education programs. Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Gustavus Adolphus College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best General Education Schools ranking. Located in the town of Saint Peter, Gustavus Adolphus is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general education programs. Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Education majors at UW Seattle take out an average of $15,752 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Harvard University ranked #14 on this year’s Best General Education Schools list. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
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With a ranking of #15, Campbell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for general education students. Campbell is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Buies Creek.
While working on their degree, education majors at Campbell accumulate an average of around $14,173 in student debt.
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University of Washington - Tacoma Campus came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best General Education Schools ranking. UW Tacoma is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Tacoma.
On average, education graduates from UW Tacoma take out $15,752 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Vanderbilt University ranked #17 on this year’s Best General Education Schools list. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.
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Syracuse University ranked #18 on this year’s Best General Education Schools list. Syracuse is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Syracuse.
On average, education graduates from Syracuse take out $25,449 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #19, St Olaf College did quite well on this year’s best schools for general education students. St. Olaf is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Northfield.
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Marquette University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general education students. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Saint Martin’s University ranked #21 on this year’s Best General Education Schools list. Located in the city of Lacey, Saint Martin's is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Johns Hopkins University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general education students. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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California State University - Sacramento did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general education students. It came in at #23 on the list. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a very large student population.
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With a ranking of #24, Concordia College at Moorhead did quite well on this year’s best schools for general education students. Concordia College Moorhead is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Moorhead.
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University of California - Berkeley landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general education programs. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.
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Additional Award Winners
This section represents the rest of the schools awarded a Best General Education Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 476 different United States general education schools we analyzed.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best General Education Schools award.
General Education by Region
View the Best General Education Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
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Related Programs
Learn about other programs related to General Education that might interest you.
MEd in Curriculum & Instruction
Enhance your career as a teacher or administrator or prepare to advance to a leadership position within your school with this specialized online MEd from Southern New Hampshire University.
MS in Higher Education Administration
Learn how strategic leadership, data-driven resource management and a culture centered on student success can enhance colleges and universities with this online master's from Southern New Hampshire University.
General Education Related Rankings by Major
One of 14 majors within the area of study, general education has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related to Education
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 110,226 |
| Educational Administration | 46,469 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 43,297 |
| Special Education | 36,792 |
| Curriculum & Instruction | 19,832 |
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 KOKUYO.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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