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2025 Best Education Schools in Illinois

28 Colleges in Illinois
10,700 Education Degrees Awarded
$53,180 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in education, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #4 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual reviewed 28 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of education. Combined, these schools handed out 10,700 degrees in education to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Education School

Best Education Schools in Illinois Your choice of education school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall 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 Education Degree Level

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

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Education Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision. 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 Education in Illinois

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 Illinois Schools in Education

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
992 Education Degrees Awarded
$46,504 Median Starting Salary

Illinois State University is a great option for students interested in a degree in education. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #210 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 992 education students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the education program state that they receive average early career income of $46,504.

More information about a degree in education from Illinois State University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,032 Education Degrees Awarded
$68,615 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in education has to take a look at Concordia University, Chicago. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of River Forest. A Best Colleges rank of #125 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Concordia University, Chicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 1032 education students who graduated with this degree at Concordia University, Chicago in the most recent year we have data available. Those education students who get their degree from Concordia University, Chicago receive $15,435 more than the standard education graduate.

More information about a degree in education from Concordia University, Chicago

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
663 Education Degrees Awarded
$55,118 Median Starting Salary

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in education. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 663 education students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, education degree recipients usually make an average of $55,118 at the beginning of their careers.

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

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,084 Education Degrees Awarded
$60,988 Median Starting Salary

National Louis University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in education. Located in the large city of Chicago, NLU is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #385 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NLU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 1084 education students who graduated with this degree at NLU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the education program at National Louis University get $7,808 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in education from National Louis University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
177 Education Degrees Awarded
$57,421 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #100 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 177 education students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent data year. Education degree recipients from Loyola University Chicago earn a boost of about $4,241 above the typical earnings of education graduates.

More information about a degree in education from Loyola University Chicago

6
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
473 Education Degrees Awarded
$53,889 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.

There were about 473 education students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the education program state that they receive average early career income of $53,889.

More information about a degree in education from DePaul University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
122 Education Degrees Awarded
$43,230 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #519 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Bradley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 122 education students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the education program earn around $43,230 for their early career.

More information about a degree in education from Bradley University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
595 Education Degrees Awarded
$53,142 Median Starting Salary

NIU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Dekalb. A Best Colleges rank of #529 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NIU is a great university overall.

There were about 595 education students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the education program make about $53,142 for their early career.

More information about a degree in education from Northern Illinois University

9
Augustana crest
Augustana College
Rock Island, IL
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
75 Education Degrees Awarded
$45,299 Median Starting Salary

Augustana is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small city of Rock Island. A Best Colleges rank of #533 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Augustana is a great college overall.

There were approximately 75 education students who graduated with this degree at Augustana in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the education program earn about $45,299 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in education from Augustana College

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
147 Education Degrees Awarded
$49,049 Median Starting Salary

SXU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. This university ranks 30th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 147 education students who graduated with this degree at SXU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, education degree recipients generally make around $49,049 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in education from Saint Xavier University

Best 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 Colleges Degrees Awarded
Indiana 38 10,390
Michigan 38 5,598
Ohio 38 8,875
Wisconsin 37 5,311

View All Rankings >

Education Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 3,685
Educational Administration 1,734
Teacher Education Subject Specific 1,592
Special Education 1,088
Curriculum & Instruction 979
General Education 600
Student Counseling 424
Teaching English or French 177
Instructional Media Design 108
Education Philosophy 92

View All Education Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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