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Best Education Schools in Illinois

2023 Best Education Schools in Illinois

39 Colleges
$49,951 Avg Salary
$25,324 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Education School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, education was ranked 4th in Illinois. In fact, 10,567 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Education Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 39 schools in Illinois to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Education Schools in Illinois

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

Top 10 Best Education Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our analysis found Northwestern University to be the best school for education students who want to pursue a degree in Illinois. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

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#2

Augustana College

Rock Island, IL

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Augustana College is a great place for education students. Located in the small city of Rock Island, Augustana is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, education graduates from Augustana take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a great place for education students. Located in the small city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that education majors at SIUC take out is $19,901.

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#4

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Wesleyan University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Education Schools in Illinois list. Located in the small city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Education Schools in Illinois list. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

On average, education graduates from UIUC take out $18,125 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $371, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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University of St Francis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for education students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that education majors at University of Saint Francis take out is $23,878.

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Illinois State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Education Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a very large student population.

On average, education graduates from Illinois State take out $22,083 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $332, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#8

North Central College

Naperville, IL

North Central College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for education students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Naperville, North Central is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their degree, education graduates from North Central carry an average student debtload of $27,000. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $255.

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#9

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Bradley University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Education Schools in Illinois ranking. Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Peoria.

The average amount in student loans that education majors at Bradley take out is $27,000. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $768.

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With a ranking of #10, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on this year’s best schools for education students. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public school with a very large student population.

Education majors at UIC take out an average of $15,767 in student loans while working on their egree.

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Best Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Education Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 11,570
Michigan 5,939
Ohio 9,238
Wisconsin 5,792

Education Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
Special Education 36,792
General Education 29,810
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832
Student Counseling 13,858
Instructional Media Design 8,695
Teaching English or French 5,791
Other Education 4,858
Teaching Assistants 2,751
Educational Assessment 2,552
Multilingual Education 1,910
Education Philosophy 737
International Education 293

Related Major Annual Graduates
Social Sciences 205,984
Psychology 195,678
Communication & Journalism 120,571
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 55,820
History 32,731

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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