by our College Data Analytics TeamCollege Factual looked at 102 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Education Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 18,636 master's degrees in education during the 2022-2023 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Your choice of education for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality education program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for education students working on their master's degree.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Education Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for education students seeking a a master's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in education has to look into Purdue University - Main Campus. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in education from Purdue University - Main Campus
It's hard to beat Ball State University if you want to pursue a master's degree in education. Located in the small city of Muncie, Ball State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in education from Ball State University
Concordia University, Chicago is a great decision for individuals pursuing a master's degree in education. Located in the large suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in education from Concordia University, Chicago
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in education needs to look into University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign.More information about a master’s in education from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in education from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in education from Indiana University - Bloomington
Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in education from Ohio State University - Main Campus
NLU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in education from National Louis University
Located in the city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in education from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
Located in the fringe town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in education from Miami University - Oxford
Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.More information about a master’s in education from Illinois State University
DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in education from DePaul University
Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in education from Loyola University Chicago
Located in the large suburb of Kent, Kent State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in education from Kent State University at Kent
Located in the suburb of Ypsilanti, Eastern Michigan is a public university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in education from Eastern Michigan University
Located in the large city of Milwaukee, Alverno is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a master’s in education from Alverno College
Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the city of East Lansing.More information about a master’s in education from Michigan State University
Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Bourbonnais.More information about a master’s in education from Olivet Nazarene University
Located in the midsize city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in education from University of Dayton
Located in the large city of Indianapolis, Butler is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in education from Butler University
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Education Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo, MI |
| 22 | University of St Francis | Joliet, IL |
| 23 | North Central College | Naperville, IL |
| 24 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 25 | Saint Xavier University | Chicago, IL |
| 26 | Ashland University | Ashland, OH |
| 27 | Central Michigan University | Mount Pleasant, MI |
| 28 | Aurora University | Aurora, IL |
| 29 | University of Illinois at Chicago | Chicago, IL |
| 30 | Dominican University | River Forest, IL |
| 31 | Roosevelt University | Chicago, IL |
| 32 | Bowling Green State University - Main Campus | Bowling Green, OH |
| 33 | Northern Illinois University | Dekalb, IL |
| 34 | Ohio University - Athens Campus | Athens, OH |
Explore the best education schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Educational Administration | 4,121 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 2,933 |
| Special Education | 2,742 |
| Curriculum & Instruction | 2,422 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 2,307 |
| General Education | 1,282 |
| Student Counseling | 1,233 |
| Instructional Media Design | 796 |
| Multilingual Education | 296 |
| Teaching English or French | 224 |
