Best Colleges for Teacher Education
50 Teacher Education programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.
For Teacher Education, Relay Graduate School of Education (New York) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $76,883. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.
| # | School | Credential | Median earnings | Median debt | Completers | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Relay Graduate School of Education New York, NY | Master's Degree | $76,883 | $9,348 | 1,261 | 97.8 |
| 2 | CUNY Hunter College New York, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $73,857 | $13,920 | 73 | 93.7 |
| 3 | CUNY Queens College Queens, NY | Master's Degree | $77,925 | $19,033 | 106 | 93.4 |
| 4 | CUNY Queens College Queens, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $67,221 | $11,000 | 140 | 93.1 |
| 5 | California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA | Master's Degree | $97,033 | $20,500 | 49 | 90.9 |
| 6 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA | Master's Degree | $69,794 | $17,802 | 66 | 90.5 |
| 7 | College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $75,637 | $20,340 | 52 | 90.1 |
| 8 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA | Master's Degree | $77,699 | $18,834 | — | 89.7 |
| 9 | University of Massachusetts Global Irvine, CA | Master's Degree | $84,909 | — | 240 | 89.2 |
| 10 | California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA | Master's Degree | $89,925 | $20,500 | — | 89 |
| 11 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA | Master's Degree | $81,942 | — | 171 | 88.8 |
| 12 | Boricua College New York, NY | Master's Degree | $89,128 | $13,140 | 0 | 88.3 |
| 13 | American International College Springfield, MA | Master's Degree | $67,175 | $20,500 | 112 | 88.1 |
| 14 | Southeastern Oklahoma State University Durant, OK | Master's Degree | $61,895 | $17,612 | 243 | 88 |
| 15 | Rider University Lawrenceville, NJ | Master's Degree | $67,463 | $17,860 | 41 | 87.9 |
| 16 | California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA | Master's Degree | $77,214 | $20,500 | — | 87.8 |
| 17 | University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA | Master's Degree | $76,298 | $24,000 | 118 | 87.8 |
| 18 | Duke University Durham, NC | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $108,721 | — | 71 | 87.7 |
| 19 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL | Bachelor's Degree | $64,100 | $15,000 | 49 | 87.6 |
| 20 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $59,993 | $12,500 | 258 | 87.2 |
| 21 | Weber State University Ogden, UT | Master's Degree | $70,864 | $20,500 | 41 | 86.9 |
| 22 | New York University New York, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $64,640 | $18,000 | 47 | 86.7 |
| 23 | Valdosta State University Valdosta, GA | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $72,856 | — | 98 | 86 |
| 24 | Salem State University Salem, MA | Master's Degree | $60,928 | $15,041 | 83 | 86 |
| 25 | CUNY Hunter College New York, NY | Master's Degree | $77,067 | $25,523 | 146 | 86 |
| 26 | CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $58,828 | $10,315 | 194 | 85.9 |
| 27 | New Jersey City University Jersey City, NJ | Master's Degree | $67,341 | $20,500 | 43 | 85.6 |
| 28 | Utah State University Logan, UT | Master's Degree | $70,374 | $12,000 | 3 | 85.6 |
| 29 | Claremont Graduate University Claremont, CA | Master's Degree | $80,974 | — | 39 | 85.2 |
| 30 | University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI | Post-baccalaureate Certificate | $62,114 | $12,500 | — | 85.2 |
| 31 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $59,736 | $15,249 | 109 | 85.2 |
| 32 | Western Washington University Bellingham, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $62,500 | $20,043 | 75 | 85.2 |
| 33 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA | Master's Degree | $75,848 | — | 49 | 84.9 |
| 34 | The Evergreen State College Olympia, WA | Master's Degree | $75,318 | — | 55 | 84.9 |
| 35 | Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus Madison, NJ | Master's Degree | $64,376 | $20,500 | 56 | 84.8 |
| 36 | California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA | Master's Degree | $91,505 | — | — | 84.7 |
| 37 | Friends University Wichita, KS | Master's Degree | $62,988 | $17,075 | — | 84.6 |
| 38 | Washington State University Pullman, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $61,304 | $20,819 | 194 | 84.6 |
| 39 | Trinity Washington University Washington, DC | Master's Degree | $75,956 | $20,500 | 12 | 84.4 |
| 40 | Elon University Elon, NC | Bachelor's Degree | $63,041 | $20,000 | 45 | 84.4 |
| 41 | Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $66,848 | $19,500 | 24 | 84.4 |
| 42 | State University of New York at Cortland Cortland, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $62,275 | $21,794 | 138 | 84.3 |
| 43 | Notre Dame of Maryland University Baltimore, MD | Master's Degree | $63,218 | $20,500 | 58 | 84.2 |
| 44 | Villanova University Villanova, PA | Master's Degree | $65,719 | $20,500 | 37 | 84.2 |
| 45 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA | Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification) | $80,440 | — | — | 84.1 |
| 46 | Viterbo University La Crosse, WI | Master's Degree | $60,254 | $16,144 | 64 | 84 |
| 47 | Marian University Indianapolis, IN | Master's Degree | $62,593 | $20,500 | 66 | 83.9 |
| 48 | Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus Teaneck, NJ | Master's Degree | $64,376 | $20,500 | 42 | 83.9 |
| 49 | College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY | Master's Degree | $71,468 | $20,950 | 18 | 83.9 |
| 50 | CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY | Master's Degree | $78,311 | $25,825 | 62 | 83.9 |
How we ranked this
Programs are scored 0–100 within the Teacher Education field (CIP 13.12) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Teacher Education programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.
Frequently asked questions
Which college has the best Teacher Education program?+
By our outcome score, Relay Graduate School of Education (New York) ranks #1 for Teacher Education, with median graduate earnings of $76,883.
How are these Teacher Education programs ranked?+
Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.
Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+
The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.
Can I filter Teacher Education programs by state or degree level?+
Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.