2023 Best Education Schools in Illinois
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
Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the best school in Illinois for education students. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Augustana College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Education Schools in Illinois list. 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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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Education Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that education majors at SIUC take out is $19,901.
Full Education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report
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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 city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Out of the 39 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the # 5 spot on the list. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the 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.
Read full report on Education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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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 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 landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best education programs. Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college 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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North Central College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Education Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Naperville, North Central is a private not-for-profit college 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.
Full Education at North Central College Report
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With a ranking of #9, Bradley University did quite well on this year’s best schools for education students. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized 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.
Full Education at Bradley University Report
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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 fairly large student population.
Education majors at UIC take out an average of $15,767 in student loans while working on their egree.
Full Education at University of Illinois at Chicago Report
Request InformationBest 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 |
More Education Rankings in Illinois
Rankings in Majors Related to Education
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 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Education
| 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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