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Most Popular General Education Master's Degree Schools

2023 Most Popular General Education Master's Degree Schools

414 Colleges
$50,291 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Education Master's Degree 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular General Education Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 414 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the General Education program at each school on the list.

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

#1

National University

La Jolla, CA

Our 2023 rankings named National University the most popular school in the United States for general education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Women make up 70% of the education majors at the school.

Full General Education at National University Report

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#3

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ

The in-demand master’s degree programs at Grand Canyon University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular general education schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit college with a very large student population.

Of the 707 students majoring in education at Grand Canyon University, 16% are male and 84% are female.

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#4

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

The in-demand master’s degree programs at Johns Hopkins University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular general education schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 595 students majoring in education at Johns Hopkins, 25% are male and 75% are female.

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#5

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Harvard University is a great place for general education students working on their master’s degree. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.

About 76% of the students majoring in education at the school are women while 24% are male.

Full General Education at Harvard University Report

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#6

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

James Madison University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for general education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. JMU is a fairly large public school located in the city of Harrisonburg.

Of the 295 students majoring in education at JMU, 17% are male and 83% are female.

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Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for general education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the distant town of Winona, SMU MN is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Women make up 85% of the education majors at the school.

Full General Education at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Report

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California State University - Fullerton ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular General Education Master’s Degree Schools list. Cal State Fullerton is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.

Of the 255 students majoring in education at Cal State Fullerton, 18% are male and 82% are female.

Full General Education at California State University - Fullerton Report

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California Baptist University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular General Education Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Cal Baptist is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Riverside.

Of the 247 students majoring in education at Cal Baptist, 23% are male and 77% are female.

Full General Education at California Baptist University Report

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Fort Hays State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for general education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. FHSU is a large public school located in the remote town of Hays.

About 69% of the students majoring in education at the school are women while 31% are male.

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#11

San Jose State University

San Jose, CA

With a ranking of #11, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose.

About 90% of the students majoring in education at the school are women while 10% are male.

Full General Education at San Jose State University Report

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Eastern Washington University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for general education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the fringe town of Cheney, EWU is a public school with a large student population.

Women make up 82% of the education majors at the school.

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With a ranking of #14, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. Ohio State is a very large public school located in the city of Columbus.

Of the 208 students majoring in education at Ohio State, 25% are male and 75% are female.

Read full report on General Education at Ohio State University - Main Campus

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#15

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

With a ranking of #15, Brandman University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. Brandman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.

About 84% of the students majoring in education at the school are women while 16% are male.

Full General Education at Brandman University Report

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With a ranking of #16, Azusa Pacific University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. Azusa Pacific is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Azusa.

Of the 193 students majoring in education at Azusa Pacific, 28% are male and 72% are female.

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With a ranking of #17, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Of the 189 students majoring in education at UCLA, 25% are male and 75% are female.

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#17

Northcentral University

San Diego, CA

Northcentral University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree general education programs. Northcentral University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

About 71% of the students majoring in education at the school are women while 29% are male.

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#19

Montclair State University

Montclair, NJ

With a ranking of #19, Montclair State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. Montclair State is a very large public school located in the suburb of Montclair.

Of the 182 students majoring in education at Montclair State, 16% are male and 84% are female.

Full General Education at Montclair State University Report

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With a ranking of #20, University of California - Riverside did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. UCR is a very large public school located in the city of Riverside.

About 76% of the students majoring in education at the school are women while 24% are male.

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#21

Portland State University

Portland, OR

Portland State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for general education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the city of Portland, Portland State University is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 173 students majoring in education at Portland State University, 40% are male and 60% are female.

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With a ranking of #22, Concordia University, Texas did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. Concordia University, Texas is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Lakeway.

Of the 172 students majoring in education at Concordia University, Texas, 35% are male and 65% are female.

Read full report on General Education at Concordia University, Texas

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for general education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. UIUC is a very large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

Of the 170 students majoring in education at UIUC, 21% are male and 79% are female.

Full General Education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

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#24

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

Clemson University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular General Education Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Clemson is a very large public school located in the suburb of Clemson.

Women make up 92% of the education majors at the school.

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#25

Sacred Heart University

Fairfield, CT

With a ranking of #25, Sacred Heart University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. Sacred Heart is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Fairfield.

About 77% of the students majoring in education at the school are women while 23% are male.

Full General Education at Sacred Heart University Report

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#26

Southern Utah University

Cedar City, UT
#27

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA
#31

Morningside College

Sioux City, IA
#33

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
#36

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA
#37

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA
#37

La Salle University

Philadelphia, PA
#39

Capella University

Minneapolis, MN
#40

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA
#42

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN
#49

Belhaven University

Jackson, MS

Additional Award Winners

This list represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Most Popular General Education Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 414 different United States general education schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
52 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
53 Goucher College Baltimore, MD
54 University of San Diego San Diego, CA
55 Augustana University Sioux Falls, SD
56 University of Portland Portland, OR
57 Tusculum University Greeneville, TN
58 Longwood University Farmville, VA
58 University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA
60 Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO
60 Southwest Baptist University Bolivar, MO
62 Wilmington University New Castle, DE

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular General Education Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
63 University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA
64 Towson University Towson, MD
64 University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO
64 West Virginia University Morgantown, WV
67 Adelphi University Garden City, NY
68 California State University - Monterey Bay Seaside, CA
69 University of North Carolina at Wilmington Wilmington, NC
69 New Mexico State University - Main Campus Las Cruces, NM
71 University of Maryland - Baltimore County Baltimore, MD
72 Georgian Court University Lakewood, NJ
73 Baker University Baldwin City, KS
73 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
75 California University of Pennsylvania California, PA
76 Wilson College Chambersburg, PA
77 University of Wyoming Laramie, WY
78 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ
79 University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI
79 Teachers College of San Joaquin Stockton, CA
81 Saint Michael’s College Colchester, VT
81 Saint Joseph’s College of Maine Standish, ME
81 University of Wisconsin - Stout Menomonie, WI

General Education by Region

View the Most Popular General 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

One of 14 majors within the area of study, general education has other similar majors worth exploring.

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.

  • 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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