Find your perfect college degree
Earning an online master’s degree in education can provide prospective students with a solid foundation in teaching, allowing them to develop their skills, knowledge, and approach as a teacher.
It can also open up a wealth of opportunities to advance their career in the field, allowing them to take on leadership positions in the education sector.
Many Master’s in Education programs are available online. These online programs often allow students to take on a specialization, tailoring their coursework to suit their professional goals and interests. Some of the specialization areas include:
- Education Administration,
- Educational Leadership,
- Elementary Education,
- Special Education,
- and Early Childhood Education, among others.
Overview
Many universities and colleges in the country offer an Education master’s degree online. This means aspiring teachers and even licensed teachers who wish to advance their education will enjoy flexibility when it comes to pursuing graduate degrees.
If you want not only to enhance your teaching skills but also to enhance your leadership skills, a Master’s in Education degree online is a step in the right direction! This program prepares teachers for the teacher certification program.
Methodology
Teaching isn’t seen as the most glamorous of professions, but it is undoubtedly the most crucial, as teachers are at the early formative stages of people’s lives that heavily determine their futures in terms of knowledge and character. Students looking to advance their craft must choose the best graduate-level education programs they can access, given the importance of this field.
We’ve got you covered! We’ve put together a list of graduate schools that offer the best online master’s in education programs. Each of our selections was based on the following characteristics:
- Offered primarily or entirely online or in a hybrid format,
- Features a wide range of Education specializations that graduate students can choose from to fit their current teaching practice, career goals, and other needs,
- Prepares graduates for high-level teaching positions or a doctorate in Education,
- Developed and taught by faculty with extensive expertise in their fields,
- Offered by leading universities that maintain a strong reputation for educational quality,
- Hold the relevant accreditation credentials.
Visit our Methodology section.
Top Online Master’s in Education Degree Programs
Walden University
Minneapolis, MN
Master of Science in Education
Founded in 1970, Walden University has been providing quality education through distance learning methods in an effort to help adult learners acquire advanced degrees. To date, it has helped more than 140,000 professionals enhance their education career paths and boost their earning potential.
The university offers programs in various fields, including business and management, communication, counseling, criminal justice, education, and information technology, among others.
- Walden University’s online Master of Science in Education provides the practical tools that they can readily apply to support learning outcomes and improve their teaching.
- Students will be able to learn evidence-based approaches to today’s most pressing educational challenges, including creating inclusive learning environments to harness the latest technologies.
- There are three learning track options for online students. This includes the MSEd Traditional, MSEd Accelerated, and MSEd One-Credit.
- To get admitted into this master’s in teaching degree program, students must hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university and have teaching experience.
Standout Features:
In this online master’s in education program, students have the freedom to choose a specialization that will better align with their interests and career goals. Some of their choices include Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; Educational Leadership Administration, Elementary Reading and Literacy, Integrating Technology in the Classroom, and STEM Education, among others.
Did You Know?
Walden University emphasizes quality in education. It is led by scholars, practitioners, and education innovators, ensuring that the school remains committed to providing student-centered degree programs. In fact, more than 300 faculty members have been recognized for excellence in mentorship and teaching. Walden University is Higher Learning Commission-approved.
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Cambridge, MA
Master’s in Education
The Harvard Graduate School of Education was founded in 1920. It sought to help passionate educators reach their goal of becoming transformative educational leaders in the field of education. The school continues to evolve and innovate, ensuring that the advanced programs it offers are career-focused and high-quality. Since its foundation, the school has seen more than 30,000 students.
- The online Master’s in Education offered by Harvard Graduate School of Education is a two-year, part-time Master of Education program with higher education and a PreK-12 pathway specifically designed for working education professionals.
- The online teaching program program aims to hone students’ invaluable skills and provide them with the tools that can propel them to new leadership opportunities.
- Students need to complete a minimum of 42 credits to earn the online master’s in education program.
- Some of the foundational courses include Creating the Future of American Postsecondary Education, Higher Education Leadership & Governance, and Student Affairs in Higher Education: Theory-Driven Practices to Help Students Thrive.
Standout Features:
Offering a distinctive Harvard experience, this online master’s in education program allows students to deeply engage and interact with Harvard faculty and talented peers within an intentionally designed curriculum. They can also enjoy opportunities for mentorship and coaching. Since the program is career-focused, students will be able to immediately apply what they learned in real time.
Did You Know?
Committed to diversity and inclusion, the Harvard Graduate School of Education has laid out various initiatives to ensure its advocacy is seen through. It includes the Anti-Racist Teaching and Advising Initiative, the Alumni of Color Conference, the Chen Yidan Visiting Fellows program, and the Diversity Innovation Fund. The latter awards small grants to support student-initiated ideas and projects that allow for more varied perspectives.
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ
Master of Arts in Education
Fully committed to making quality education available to all, Arizona State University Online features a digital learning experience led by experienced and expert professors and instructional designers. It is currently serving more than 41,00 undergraduate students and over 13,000 graduate students.
Students are guaranteed dedicated support services and top-tier faculty to help them advance their education regardless of their backgrounds.
- Arizona State University offers the MA in Education program to help prospective students broaden their knowledge and develop their unique identity as an educator.
- Students are expected to gain a broad perspective that encompasses current educational practices and challenges while also acquiring a deeper understanding of their chosen focal areas.
- The program equips students with essential skills such as effective communication, leadership, collaboration, advocacy, and innovation.
- Some of the courses included in the comprehensive curriculum are Behavior Assessment in Applied Behavior Analysis, and Concepts and Principles of Applied Behavior Analysis.
Standout Features:
This master’s program allows students to personalize their coursework in a way that helps meet their professional goals by choosing two focal areas. Their options include but are not limited to gifted education, early childhood education, global education, autism spectrum disorders, applied behavior analysis, and learning design and technologies, among others.
Did You Know?
ASU Online distinguishes itself by providing quality in everything it does, whether it is the exceptional faculty, research, and curriculum. It is currently offering more than 300 programs to help students accelerate career growth. Around 94% of online students who successfully graduated from ASU Online reported that their degree led to a new job, their first career job, or a promotion.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
Masters in Education
Since 1905, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s College of Education has remained committed to excellence, from its groundbreaking research to the preparation of educator-leaders. The university offers a number of undergraduate and graduate degree programs under four departments, including:
- Curriculum and Instruction,
- Education Policy,
- Organization and Leadership,
- Educational Psychology,
- and Special Education.
On top of its on-campus degree options, the university also features online and off-campus degree programs.
- The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Masters in Education aims to prepare busy professionals to face the most challenging issues in education.
- The education program curriculum is led by world-class faculty and researchers who are leaders in the education field.
- This graduate degree can be earned in as little as 18 months with a total of 32 credits.
- Students can expect to learn from online video synchronous sessions, most of which are designed to allow them to interact with instructors and peers for an enriched learning experience.
Standout Features:
Students can choose among various concentration options. It includes:
- Bilingual Bi-cultural,
- Digital Learning,
- Diversity and Equity in Education,
- Global Studies in Education,
- Human Resource Development,
- Learning Design and Leadership,
- and International Education Administration and Leadership, among others.
Did You Know?
The College of Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is home to Dr. Samuel Kirk, the “father of special education.” Dr. Kirk created the paradigm of “learning disabilities.” His work helped form the federal legislation that authorized the Head Start program.
The latter provides educational, health, and social services to underprivileged preschoolers. The pioneering research has benefitted more than a million students.
University of San Diego
San Diego, CA
Master of Education
A top-ranked higher learning institution, the University of San Diego offers career-building online and on-campus master’s degree programs designed for working professionals. Its online programs are known for their rigorous, high-quality content and expert instruction. All of these programs are taught by engaged, highly supportive faculty members.
- The University of San Diego is known for its quality education degree programs, one of which is the Master of Education program offered under the School of Leadership and Education Sciences.
- Students will gain knowledge and skills essential to enhancing their teaching through a flexible online degree while engaging with expert instructors and experienced educators.
- The online program offers a cutting-edge curriculum with core courses unique to individual specializations, including School Leadership, Technology and Innovation, Curriculum and Instruction, and Inclusive Learning: Special Education and Universal Design.
Standout Features:
This graduate program is ideal for practicing K-12 educators with at least two years of teaching experience in diverse settings, including non-traditional, independent, public district, and charter schools.
Did You Know?
The University of San Diego’s online, asynchronous courses are facilitated by instructors through engaging multimedia presentations, providing prompt feedback to questions within a 24 to 48-hour time frame. Students also have the opportunity to interact with instructors and fellow online students through chats, discussion forums, and email correspondence.
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
Master’s in Education – Curriculum & Instruction
Texas A&M University is a public, land-grant research university in College Station, Texas. It was established in 1871 as an Agriculture and Mechanical University (hence the name) and has grown over the decades to become one of the state’s and the country’s top research universities.
Composed of 17 colleges, Texas A&M University is also part of several national consortia, including the Association of American Universities. It is also one of the state’s largest universities, with a population of almost 73,000 students.
- Texas A&M University offers an online Master’s in Education (M.Ed.) in Curriculum & Instruction with a Generalist Emphasis. The program combines theory and methodology with a chosen substantive content area.
- This program is 36 credit hours in total and is offered with a non-thesis option.
- This graduate program is designed for teachers in PK-12 settings.
Standout Features:
Texas A&M’s online M.Ed. program has a comprehensive design that prepares students to effectively bring about student success, facilitate school improvement, and foster family and community partnerships. Its coursework has a practical framing and features various program experiences.
Did You Know?
As a nod to its roots as an Agricultural school, Texas A&M University’s students and athletic teams are known by the nickname “Aggies.” This nickname is shared with around eight other institutions that were established as A&M colleges and/or continue to specialize in agriculture-related education, including UC Davis, Utah State University, and Murray State College.
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
Master’s in Education
The University of Kansas is a public research university in Lawrence, Kansas, with branch campuses in several locations throughout the state. It was established in 1863 by virtue of state legislation, holding its first classes in 1866.
It is the state’s flagship institution, currently offering over 345 degree programs, and is a member of the Association of American Universities. It has a population of over 26,700 students.
- The University of Kansas offers an online MS in Education with a varied range of teaching needs and focus areas, including Curriculum and Instruction, Special and Inclusive Education, and Education Administration and Leadership.
- The M.Ed. programs focused on curriculum and instruction also include Reading Education and TESOL-Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
- The Special & Inclusive Education M.Ed programs include Autism Spectrum Disorder, High-incidence disabilities, and secondary special education & transition.
- The 7 M.Ed programs vary in length, but they generally are around 30 credit hours each. Some programs, including Reading Education and TESOL have licensure and non-licensure tracks.
Standout Features:
The University of Kansas’ range of M.Ed. programs provides a more dedicated focus on specific areas that would be disparate if placed together in a more generic M.Ed program. The range of programs on Special and Inclusive Education is particularly interesting, as it provides valuable learning opportunities for specialized practitioners focusing on students with special needs.
Did You Know?
A law created for the University of Kansas contained a condition that the city of Lawrence provide the initial endowment fund and the land for the university, with the nearby city of Emporia getting the university instead if Lawrence fails to meet the requirement.
Emporia got its own university in the end, Emporia State University, which was established as a Normal School and continues to specialize in education degrees to this day.
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA
Master’s in Education
Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge is the state’s flagship university, as well as, of the Louisiana State University System. It was established in 1860, borne out of several succeeding land grants by the US in the first decades of the 1800s.
It is currently composed of 18 colleges and schools, and as a research university, it has affiliations with several consortia, including the URA, the ORAU, Sea Grant, and Space Grant. It has a population of over 37,300 students.
- Louisiana State University, through the LSU Online platform, offers a wide range of Master’s in Education programs that focus on specific areas of Curriculum and Instruction as well as Educational Technology and Leadership.
- The Curriculum and Instruction programs are designed as M.Ed programs and include a General concentration area, as well as concentrations in Adult Education, Education Technology Leader, ESL, Reading and Literacy, Special Education Leadership, STEM, and Urban Education.
- LSU also offers a Master of Arts in Education with a specialization in Educational Technology, and Higher Education Administration, as well as a 39-credit hour M.Ed program in Educational Leadership.
- These various programs are awarded either by LSU, or LSU Shreveport. The M.Ed programs are around 30 credit hours in total, while the MA in Education programs contain around 36 credit hours.
Standout Features:
LSU’s varied range of Curriculum and Instruction offerings provide students with a dedicated focus on a specific area, letting them devote more valuable time to a content area that is immediately relevant to their educational practice. The range of degree program offerings also means that there are programs for both instruction/practice as well as administrative/leadership sides of the field.
Did You Know?
LSU’s Baton Rouge campus may be 163 years old with over 50 features listed in the National Register of Historic Places, yet these pale in comparison to the Campus Mounds, two Native American burial mounds within the campus that are generally thought to be 5,000 years old.
Western Governors University
Millcreek, UT
Master’s in Education
Western Governors University is a private nonprofit university based in Millcreek, Utah, but offers exclusively online programs. It was first conceived in 1997 and named after the governors of 19 US States. It is composed of four colleges and has over 150,000 students.
- Western Governors University’s Online offers a wide range of Master’s in Education programs tailored to different needs & teaching settings.
- Western Governors University splits its Master’s in Education program offerings (which are all Master of Arts degrees ) into the following broad tiers: programs dedicated to licensed teachers, and programs designed for those seeking to earn teacher licensure.
- Western Governors University also offers Master of Science in Education programs focused on Educational Leadership, Curriculum & Instruction, and Learning Experience Design & Educational Technology.
- WGU’s MA in Education programs are generally designed for teaching in K-12, Middle Grades, or Secondary levels.
Standout Features of Western Governors University’s Online Master’s in Education Program:
Western Governors University offers one of the most varied range of Master’s in Education programs by far, specializing in a range of key subjects, including Science and Math.
Western Governors University is also well-known for following a competency-based learning model for all its programs, letting students move on to the next courses once they are sufficiently able to demonstrate competence in their current one. This lets them potentially finish the program sooner.
Did You Know?
Western Governors University is named after the 19 US State Governors who were its pioneers, but the proposal was first put forward by Mike Leavitt, who was then the governor of Utah as early as 1995.
Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA
Master’s in Education
Liberty University is a private university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is a Christian institution affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and was established in 1971. Liberty University is composed of 17 colleges and offers both on-campus and online programs. It is also one of the largest private nonprofit universities in the country, with a population of over 94,700 students.
- Liberty University’s online Master’s in Education (M.Ed.) programs are designed to elevate students’ professional practice in their respective settings through a comprehensive curriculum grounded on ethics and professionalism.
- Liberty University’s Online Master’s in Education is offered with the option of either an advanced licensure, add-on licensure, or or non-licensure tracks. These are, in turn, offered with their choice of tracks, depending on the student’s individual career goals and needs.
- The Advanced Licensure M.Ed. programs include Administration and Supervision, Math Specialist Endorsement, Reading Specialist Endorsement, and School Counseling tracks.
- The Add-on Endorsements and Non-licensure tracks are also focused on different education subfields, including curriculum & instruction, Special and Gifted Education, and Higher Education.
- Liberty University’s various M.Ed programs consist of 36 credit hours. It typically is completed in 1.5 years.
Standout Features of Liberty University’s Online Master’s in Education Program:
Liberty University’s Master’s in Education degree is a Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation-approved graduate program. This highly focused design means students can choose the professional track of their choice based on their needs, whether they seek a non-licensure or advanced licensure track.
Did You Know?
Aside from the online M.Ed. program, Liberty University also offers a non-licensure Master of Arts in Educational Studies, and a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program designed for those seeking initial teaching licensure.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to complete a Master’s in Education program?
Most of the time, an online Master’s in Education can be completed in two years. However, there are master’s in education programs that can be earned in as little as 18 months. This will depend on the program curriculum and course load.
What are the common requirements for Master’s in Education degree programs?
The requirements for Master’s in Education degree programs often differ from university to university. Each often has its own set of admission requirements and prerequisites. One of the most common requirements is holding a bachelor’s from a regionally accredited institution.
Some may require students to meet a minimum GPA, usually 2.5 GPA or higher. Other requirements may include:
- teaching experience,
- GRE scores,
- a personal statement,
- and recommendation letters, among others.
Summary Points
- Online Education master’s programs are graduate degrees designed to provide students with specific advanced knowledge crucial in advancing their teaching skills and professional practice in terms of methods and approaches or to prepare them for higher-level leadership/administrative roles.
- Typically compartmentalized, online Teaching master’s degrees in universities are offered with specializations or tracks tailored either for licensed teachers or current education professionals. It prepares aspiring teachers seeking initial certifications and teaching licenses to launch their teaching careers.
- Master’s in Education programs are also typically designed for specific teaching levels, such as PreK-12, elementary education, middle school, and higher education settings, given the huge difference in the specific contexts and needs of these various levels.
Additional Resources:
