College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2025 Best Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Schools

65 Colleges in the United States
5,503 Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Degrees Awarded
If you plan on majoring in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #176 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.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 65 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 5,503 degrees in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor annually.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor School

Best Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Schools Your choice of teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor
Bachelor's Degrees in Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor
Master's Degrees in Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor
Doctor's Degrees in Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you. 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 Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor in the United States

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 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

13 Top Schools in Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor

1
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In NY
75 Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Degrees Awarded

New York University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 75 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from New York University

2
QC crest
Queens College
Queens, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In NY
82 Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Degrees Awarded

Queens College is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor. QC is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Queens. This college ranks 52nd out of 136 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were about 82 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at QC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from Queens College

3
Hunter crest
Hunter College
New York, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In NY
54 Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Degrees Awarded

Every student pursuing a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor has to check out Hunter College. Hunter is a fairly large public college located in the city of New York. This college ranks 30th out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were about 54 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at Hunter in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from Hunter College

4
WGU crest
Western Governors University
Salt Lake City, UT
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In UT
420 Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor has to take a look at Western Governors University. Located in the large suburb of Salt Lake City, WGU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #66 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means WGU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 420 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at WGU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from Western Governors University

5
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In PA
26.3% Growth in Graduates

Temple is a very large public university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #97 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Temple is a great university overall.

There were roughly 19 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at Temple in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from Temple University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NY
71 Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Degrees Awarded

CCNY is a large public college located in the city of New York. This college ranks 65th out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were about 71 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at CCNY in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from The City College of New York

7
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MA

Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Boston U is a great university overall.

There were roughly 20 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from Boston University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IA

UNI is a moderately-sized public university located in the small city of Cedar Falls. This university ranks 3rd out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 24 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from University of Northern Iowa

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In DE
17.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Newark, UD is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #96 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UD is a great university overall.

There were about 28 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at UD in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from University of Delaware

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In AZ
221 Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Degrees Awarded

Grand Canyon University is a very large private for-profit university located in the large city of Phoenix. A Best Colleges rank of #144 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Grand Canyon University is a great university overall.

There were approximately 221 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at Grand Canyon University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from Grand Canyon University

11
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In WA

UW Seattle is a very large public university located in the large city of Seattle. A Best Colleges rank of #44 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UW Seattle is a great university overall.

There were approximately 5 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

12
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In NY
52 Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Queens, STJ is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 31st out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were roughly 52 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at STJ in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from St John’s University - New York

13
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In VA
105 Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Degrees Awarded

Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Lynchburg. This university ranks 11th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.

There were about 105 teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor students who graduated with this degree at Liberty University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in teaching english as a second or foreign language/esl language instructor from Liberty University

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor students that almost earned our Best Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Schools award.

Rank College Location
14 Molloy College Rockville Centre, NY
15 California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA
16 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
17 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
18 University of Wisconsin - River Falls River Falls, WI
19 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
20 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
21 Hofstra University Hempstead, NY

Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor by Region

View the Best Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

One of 2 majors within the Teaching English or French area of study, Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language, Other 22

View All Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options