US News and World Report Magazine has issued annual ratings of Americas’ colleges and universities for twenty years. The program has grown to include schools divided by status as research universities, four year schools, liberal arts institutions, best public universities, and other gradations of higher education institutions. One of the focal choices is for graduate programs in certain academic disciplines, one of which is education.
Below is the list of the top ten graduate programs in education in the United States as determined by the US News ranking system. There are also rankings for several specializations such as curriculum and instruction; we will touch on those ratings briefly as well.
Vanderbilt University: The Peabody College of Education and Human Development has an entire department dedicated to Special Education and another to Teaching and Learning. The Masters of Education (M.Ed.) is designed to prepare students for teaching licensure; one of the specializations for potential secondary school teachers is Math and Science – two of the fields where the teaching shortage is particularly acute.
Teachers College at Columbia University: This graduate level institution has several departments with teaching degrees scattered among them. One option is a twelve month program for a Masters in Curriculum and Teaching that can move the graduate into an administrative role. Other degree options include Literacy Specialist, Gifted Education and three Masters Degrees tracks for the field of mathematics education.
Harvard University Graduate School of Education has a Master of Education degree program with fourteen areas of specialization. Several of them are fast tracks to leadership and/or administrative roles. The program in Education Policy and Management could lead to work in the government sector or in research. The Master of Education in School Leadership can lead to Massachusetts licensure as a school principal.
Stanford University: In keeping with its standing as a preeminent research university Stanford has a large and comprehensive doctoral program in education. There are twenty one field of study, several of which have multiple tracks of their own. The Masters of Education options include several that are oriented to policy and administration and two dual degree options for an MA in Education/MBA and an MA/Juris Doctor.
University of Oregon: School of Education has several public school professional options not always found in graduate education programs. There is a Masters of Music Education option that includes most of the coursework for a Masters in Music as well. There is also a Masters in School Psychology and a graduate program for Early Intervention.
Johns Hopkins University School of Education has four departments, one of which is dedicated to Teaching and Education Leadership. The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education offers Master’s Degrees in Teaching the Adult Learner and in Urban Education; one meant for continuing education and the other for educational perseverance.
University of California at Los Angeles has a polyglot of MA and PhD programs in its Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. One of the more interesting options is the Master of Education in Student Affairs which is meant to prepare graduates for assuming that professional role in colleges, universities and community colleges.
Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy offers a one year option for the Masters in Learning Sciences that is designed for research work and presumably a PhD program. The course of study “focuses on learning from three interacting perspectives, namely, cognition, design and social context.”
University of Wisconsin School of Education has several departments besides Teacher Preparation, as do most of the graduate schools of education. One of the options for a Master of Education at Wisconsin is in Educational Psychology, a different discipline and focus than School Psychology. Within Educational Psychology there are four specialization tracks, one of which is Human Development.
University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Education offers a Master of Education, Mathematics, Science and Technology (EMST) that mixes research and classroom activity together as part of the academic requirements. Students are asked to develop innovative instructional strategies and then study them in classroom settings. The degree is preparation for a career in instructional design or educational policy.