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2025 Best Elementary Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

29 Colleges in Illinois
1,431 Bachelor's Degrees
Ranked #14 in popularity, elementary education is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 29 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Elementary Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,431 bachelor's degrees in elementary education during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Elementary Education School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Elementary Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois Your choice of elementary education for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality elementary teaching program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for elementary education students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Elementary Teaching Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Elementary Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Elementary Education in Illinois

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in elementary education.

10 Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in Elementary Teaching

1
289 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Illinois State University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in elementary education. Illinois State is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Normal.More information about a bachelor’s in elementary education from Illinois State University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
55 Annual Graduates

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a wonderful option for students interested in a bachelor's degree in elementary education. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign.More information about a bachelor’s in elementary education from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
25 Annual Graduates

Loyola University Chicago is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in elementary education. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a bachelor’s in elementary education from Loyola University Chicago

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
13 Annual Graduates

Concordia University, Chicago is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in elementary education. Located in the suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in elementary education from Concordia University, Chicago

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
44 Annual Graduates

NLU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a bachelor’s in elementary education from National Louis University

6
94 Annual Graduates

Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in elementary education from Northern Illinois University

7
44 Annual Graduates

Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Peoria.More information about a bachelor’s in elementary education from Bradley University

8
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
25 Annual Graduates

DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a bachelor’s in elementary education from DePaul University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
16 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Chicago, SXU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in elementary education from Saint Xavier University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
52 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in elementary education from Northeastern Illinois University

Best Elementary Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Elementary Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 629 589
Ohio 612 218
Indiana 535 1,240
Wisconsin 435 1,072

View All Rankings >

One of 13 majors within the Teacher Education Grade Specific area of study, Elementary Education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Early Childhood Education 512
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education & Teaching 197
Secondary Education 98
Teacher Education 28
Kindergarten/Preschool Education & Teaching 25
Teacher Development & Methodology 8

Notes and References

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