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2024 Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region

64 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
3,130 Education Degrees Awarded
$42,937 Avg Early-Career Salary
General Education is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #41 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 64 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 3,130 degrees in general education to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great General Education School

Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of general education school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall General Education School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your General Education Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Education
Bachelor's Degrees in Education
Master's Degrees in Education
Doctor's Degrees in Education

The education school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for General Education in the Great Lakes Region

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the education degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Education

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
233 Education Degrees Awarded
15.5% Growth in Graduates

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in general education. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were about 233 general education students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the general education program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $13,161 above the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in general education from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
20th Most Popular In IL

It's difficult to beat Northwestern University if you want to pursue a degree in general education. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were roughly 1 general education students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general education from Northwestern University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
258 Education Degrees Awarded
$70,750 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in general education needs to look into Purdue University - Main Campus. Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the city of West Lafayette. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.

There were roughly 258 general education students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent year we have data available. General Education degree recipients from Purdue University - Main Campus get an earnings boost of around $27,812 above the average earnings of general education majors.

More information about a degree in general education from Purdue University - Main Campus

4
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
186 Education Degrees Awarded
$44,345 Median Starting Salary

Michigan State University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in general education. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #74 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.

There were about 186 general education students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year. After graduation, education degree recipients usually earn about $44,345 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in general education from Michigan State University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
124 Education Degrees Awarded
$46,287 Median Starting Salary

U-M is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were approximately 124 general education students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. General Education degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor get an earnings boost of approximately $3,350 over the average income of general education graduates.

More information about a degree in general education from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
281 Education Degrees Awarded
0.7% Growth in Graduates

Ohio State is a very large public university located in the large city of Columbus. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 281 general education students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the general education major at Ohio State University - Main Campus get $14,099 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in general education from Ohio State University - Main Campus

7
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In OH
36.0% Growth in Graduates

Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public university located in the town of Oxford. A Best Colleges rank of #116 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Miami University - Oxford is a great university overall.

There were roughly 25 general education students who graduated with this degree at Miami University - Oxford in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general education from Miami University - Oxford

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
239 Education Degrees Awarded
$42,997 Median Starting Salary

GVSU is a very large public university located in the suburb of Allendale. A Best Colleges rank of #399 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means GVSU is a great university overall.

There were about 239 general education students who graduated with this degree at GVSU in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, education degree recipients typically make about $42,997 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in general education from Grand Valley State University

9
Denison crest
Denison University
Granville, OH
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$35,288 Median Starting Salary
$26,897 Median Student Debt

Denison is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small suburb of Granville. A Best Colleges rank of #162 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Denison is a great university overall.

There were roughly 18 general education students who graduated with this degree at Denison in the most recent data year. After graduating, education degree recipients usually make about $35,288 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in general education from Denison University

10
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
148 Education Degrees Awarded
$36,801 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Milwaukee, UWM is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 19th out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.

There were roughly 148 general education students who graduated with this degree at UWM in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the education program state that they receive average early career wages of $36,801.

More information about a degree in general education from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee


 

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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

Rank College Location
11 John Carroll University University Heights, OH
12 Alverno College Milwaukee, WI
13 Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI
14 Concordia University, Chicago River Forest, IL
15 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
16 Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL

Best General Education Colleges by State

Explore the best general education colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 699
Ohio 314 704
Illinois 304 451
Indiana 294 477
Wisconsin 273 490

View All Rankings >

General Education is one of 14 different types of Education programs to choose from.

Education Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Education 3,130

View All Education Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 14,087
Teacher Education Subject Specific 7,501
Educational Administration 6,938
Special Education 6,264
Curriculum & Instruction 2,820
Student Counseling 1,315
Instructional Media Design 1,004
Teaching English or French 510
Multilingual Education 501
Other Education 494

View All Education Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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