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Best Education Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Education Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

117 Colleges
$49,367 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Education Master's Degree School for You

With 327,871 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, education is the #4 most popular major in the United States.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

The Best Education Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 117 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Education Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 15% Best Education Master's Degree Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our analysis found Northwestern University to be the best school for education students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Education at Northwestern University

#2

Wisconsin Lutheran College

Milwaukee, WI

Out of the 117 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Wisconsin Lutheran College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, WLC is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Education at Wisconsin Lutheran College

#3

North Central College

Naperville, IL

Out of the 117 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, North Central College landed the # 3 spot on the list. North Central is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Naperville.

Read full report on Education at North Central College

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of St Francis. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Joliet.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great place for education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population.

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#6

Carroll University

Waukesha, WI

Carroll University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Carroll U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Waukesha.

Full Education at Carroll University Report

#7

Carthage College

Kenosha, WI

Carthage College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the midsize suburb of Kenosha, Carthage is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Education at Carthage College Report

#8

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Bradley University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

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#9

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

With a ranking of #9, Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Education at Purdue University - Main Campus Report

#10

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

Lewis University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Lewis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Romeoville.

Read full report on Education at Lewis University

With a ranking of #11, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse did quite well on this year’s best schools for education students working on their master’s degree. UW - La Crosse is a fairly large public school located in the small city of La Crosse.

Full Education at University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Report

#12

Valparaiso University

Valparaiso, IN

Valparaiso University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Valpo is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Valparaiso.

Read full report on Education at Valparaiso University

#13

Dominican University

River Forest, IL

Dominican University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree education programs. Located in the large suburb of River Forest, Dominican U is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UIC is a very large public school located in the large city of Chicago.

Read full report on Education at University of Illinois at Chicago

#15

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

Olivet Nazarene University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais, Olivet Nazarene is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#16

Viterbo University

La Crosse, WI

Viterbo University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the small city of La Crosse, Viterbo is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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#17

Ball State University

Muncie, IN

Ball State University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree education programs. Located in the city of Muncie, Ball State is a public school with a very large student population.

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Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Education students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Education Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
18 Aurora University Aurora, IL
19 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
20 University of Wisconsin - River Falls River Falls, WI
21 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
22 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
23 Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL

Best Education Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 11,570
Michigan 5,939
Ohio 9,238
Illinois 10,567
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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