2023 Best Education Master's Degree Schools in Illinois
Finding the Best Education Master's Degree 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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Education Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 32 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois
The colleges and universities below are the best for education majors pursuing a master's degree.
Top 10 Best Education Master's Degree Schools
Our analysis found Northwestern University to be the best school for education students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Illinois. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means North Central College is a great place for education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Naperville, North Central is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at University of St Francis helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best education schools in Illinois. Located in the large suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis 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 #4 on our 2023 Best Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. UIUC is a very large public school located in the small city of Champaign.
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Out of the 32 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Bradley University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Peoria.
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Lewis University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree education programs. Located in the large suburb of Romeoville, Lewis is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
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Dominican University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Dominican U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of River Forest.
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With a ranking of #8, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on this year’s best schools for education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public school with a very large student population.
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Olivet Nazarene University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree education programs. Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais.
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Aurora University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Request InformationBest Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Education Colleges 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.