the logo

Best universities for education degrees 2024

Find the best colleges for education degrees using Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings  2024 data

  • Rankings
  • Rankings for Students
October 26 2023
best universities for education degrees

Share

Top 10 universities in the world for education 2024

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in the world for education degrees

Education rank 2024  Education rank 2023  University Country/region
 1   2  University of California, Berkeley United States
 2   1  Stanford University United States
 3   6  University of Oxford United Kingdom
 4   4  University of Cambridge United Kingdom
 5   3  Harvard University United States
 6   5  University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
 7   NR  Tsinghua University China
 8   8  University of Michigan-Ann Arbor United States
 9   13  University of Toronto Canada
 10   11  University of California, Los Angeles United States

An education degree can open doors to working and teaching in schools as well as carrying out research into how we learn.

register- wide
Join the THE Student community and unlock free benefits

Times Higher Education has ranked the best universities for education degrees to help you decide on the best institution for you.

Tsinghua University is the only university in Asia to rank among the top 10. The only UK institutions in the top 10 are the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, at third and fourth, respectively. The University of Toronto moves up five places this year to feature in the top 10. 

Best universities in Australia for education degrees
Best universities for education degrees in the UK
Best universities in the US for education degrees
Best universities in Canada for education degrees

US universities are well represented in the subject ranking for education, with 124 universities. A total of 72 universities are from the UK and 77 are from Asia.

Canada and Australia are also represented in the ranking, with 22 and 35 universities, respectively.

Times Higher Education subject rankings are based on the same 18 performance indicators used in the overall World University Rankings 2024. However, the methodology is carefully recalibrated for each subject, with the weightings adjusted to suit the individual fields. The full methodology for the education ranking can be found here.

Top 5 universities for education degrees

5. Harvard University

Harvard University offers 13 master’s programmes and a number of doctoral programmes in education.

The master’s courses cover many aspects of the subject, including arts and education, higher education, international education policy, and human development and education.

Among the faculty are experts in wide-ranging aspects of education, including bilingual education, adult learning, economy and education, and social services and schools.

4. University of Cambridge

Education is offered at both undergraduate and postgraduate level at the University of Cambridge.

The three-year undergraduate education degree accepts only 42 students per year.

The undergraduate course consists of three possible tracks: education, psychology and learning; education, policy and international development; or education, English, drama and the arts.

Postgraduates wishing to study education can choose a PGCE, master’s or doctorate. The PGCE course is taken as a specialism in primary or secondary (high school) education. Both options include significant placement time, with secondary PGCE students spending at least 120 days of the course in schools.

What can you do with an education degree?

3. University of Oxford

Research at the University of Oxford’s department of education is centred around three key themes: language, cognition and development; economy, policy and society; and knowledge, pedagogy and design. Within each of these areas are several research groups and centres.

As well as research into education, the department provides teacher training for primary and secondary school teachers.

The department regularly hosts seminars and public lectures by nationally distinguished speakers in the field of education.

2. Stanford University

The Stanford University Graduate School of Education is one of seven schools at the institution, which also include business, law, engineering and medicine. It has a reputation as one of the best education schools in the US.

The school provides seven master’s programmes, 21 doctoral programmes and three joint programmes. There are also undergraduate programmes for students wishing to pursue a minor in education or take part in the honours programme.

The doctoral programmes aim to promote research in education, looking at the psychology behind how we learn as well as curriculum studies and teacher training.

1. University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley offers MA and PhD programmes across a wide range of topics in the field of education, such as the impact of race, class and gender, and the influence of politics and policy on education.

Undergraduates also have the option to take a minor in education, and it is one of the university’s most popular minors.

At Berkeley, there are also courses that will prepare students for a teaching career, from classroom teaching to district-level leadership.

Best universities for arts and humanities degrees
Best universities for engineering degrees
Best universities for medicine degrees
Best universities for computer science degrees
Best universities for social science degrees
Best universities for life sciences degrees
Best universities for physics, chemistry and maths degrees
Best universities for business degrees
Best universities for law degrees
Best universities for psychology degrees

Top 200 universities for education degrees 2024

Click each institution to view its World University Rankings 2024 profile

Education rank 2024  Education rank 2023  University Country/region
 1   2  University of California, Berkeley United States
 2   1  Stanford University United States
 3   6  University of Oxford United Kingdom
 4   4  University of Cambridge United Kingdom
 5   3  Harvard University United States
 6   5  University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
 7   NR  Tsinghua University China
 8   8  University of Michigan-Ann Arbor United States
 9   13  University of Toronto Canada
 10   11  University of California, Los Angeles United States
 11   12  UCL United Kingdom
 12   7  Peking University China
 13   9  Michigan State University United States
 =14   18  University of Melbourne Australia
 =14   26  Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Singapore
 16   14  Monash University Australia
 17   15  University of Wisconsin-Madison United States
 18   10  University of Pennsylvania United States
 19   17  Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
 20   19  Beijing Normal University China
 21   27  University of Sydney Australia
 22   16  New York University United States
 23   22  University of British Columbia Canada
 24   21  University of Texas at Austin United States
 25   =32  The University of Tokyo Japan
 26   28  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign United States
 27   20  Vanderbilt University United States
 28   29  Maastricht University Netherlands
 29   23  University of Washington United States
 30   =43  Johns Hopkins University United States
 31   34  Ohio State University (Main campus) United States
 32   30  University of Auckland New Zealand
 33   31  University of Edinburgh United Kingdom
 34   25  Boston College United States
 =35   =32  King’s College London United Kingdom
 =35   36  KU Leuven Belgium
 37   40  The University of Queensland Australia
 38   42  National Taiwan Normal University Taiwan
 39   41  Penn State (Main campus) United States
 40   35  University of Helsinki Finland
 41   51  Lancaster University United Kingdom
 42   =43  University of California, Irvine United States
 =43   39  McGill University Canada
 =43   49  National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech) Taiwan
 45   =43  University of Tübingen Germany
 46   59  University of California, San Diego United States
 47   37  University of Maryland, College Park United States
 48   69  Zhejiang University China
 49   52  University of Oslo Norway
 50   50  Technical University of Munich Germany
 =51   38  Florida State University United States
 =51   =78  Purdue University West Lafayette United States
 53   =71  Ghent University Belgium
 54   =66  Texas A&M University United States
 =55   58  University of Southern California United States
 =55   64  UNSW Sydney Australia
 =57   46  Arizona State University (Tempe) United States
 =57   48  Kyoto University Japan
 59   57  University of Bristol United Kingdom
 60   60  Indiana University United States
 61   63  LMU Munich Germany
 62   =53  Seoul National University South Korea
 63   =66  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill United States
 =64   74  Deakin University Australia
 =64   101–125  University of Massachusetts United States
 66   70  Humboldt University of Berlin Germany
 67   76  University of Birmingham United Kingdom
 =68   47  East China Normal University China
 =68   55  University of Florida United States
 =68   =78  University of Nottingham United Kingdom
 71   126–150  Autonomous University of Barcelona Spain
 =72   84  Aarhus University Denmark
 =72   68  Brown University United States
 =72   101–125  University of Colorado Boulder United States
 =75   126–150  University of Alberta Canada
 =75   65  Western University Canada
 =77   =87  University of Manchester United Kingdom
 =77   101–125  University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus United States
 79   61  University of Antwerp Belgium
 80   126–150  University of Groningen Netherlands
 81   =71  University of Virginia (Main campus) United States
 82   62  University of Amsterdam Netherlands
 =83   101–125  Middle East Technical University Turkey
 =83   91  University of Technology Sydney Australia
 85   93  Macquarie University Australia
 86   81  University of Warwick United Kingdom
 =87   73  University of Glasgow United Kingdom
 =87   101–125  University of São Paulo Brazil
 89   =78  University of Georgia United States
 =90   96  University of Bath United Kingdom
 =90   =53  Korea University South Korea
 =92   151–175  University of Cape Town South Africa
 =92   77  Durham University United Kingdom
 =92   =100  University of Malaya Malaysia
 96   =100  University of Montreal Canada
 =97   75  University of Adelaide Australia
 =97   151–175  University of Vienna Austria
 99   =97  Free University of Berlin Germany
 100   101–125  Trinity College Dublin Ireland
 101–125   =89  University of Arizona United States
 101–125   151–175  University of Barcelona Spain
 101–125   101–125  University of California, Santa Barbara United States
 101–125   301–400  Cardiff University United Kingdom
 101–125   126–150  Université Catholique de Louvain Belgium
 101–125   =94  Curtin University Australia
 101–125   101–125  Delft University of Technology Netherlands
 101–125   151–175  Griffith University Australia
 101–125   101–125  University of Hamburg Germany
 101–125   101–125  University of Illinois Chicago United States
 101–125   126–150  University of Iowa United States
 101–125   =100  University of Jyväskylä Finland
 101–125   82  King Abdulaziz University Saudi Arabia
 101–125   126–150  University of Leeds United Kingdom
 101–125   101–125  University of Limerick Ireland
 101–125   86  University of Minnesota United States
 101–125   101–125  The Open University United Kingdom
 101–125   201–250  University of Porto Portugal
 101–125   126–150  University of Rochester United States
 101–125   =89  Simon Fraser University Canada
 101–125   =97  University of South Australia Australia
 101–125   83  University College Dublin Ireland
 101–125   101–125  Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand
 101–125   101–125  The University of Western Australia Australia
 101–125   85  Yonsei University (Seoul campus) South Korea
 126–150   126–150  Australian Catholic University Australia
 126–150   126–150  Autonomous University of Madrid Spain
 126–150   176–200  University of Bologna Italy
 126–150   151–175  University of Calgary Canada
 126–150   126–150  University of Exeter United Kingdom
 126–150   101–125  Fudan University China
 126–150   176–200  Georgia State University United States
 126–150   101–125  University of Gothenburg Sweden
 126–150   151–175  University of Hawai’i at Mānoa United States
 126–150   101–125  University of Kansas United States
 126–150   176–200  University of Lisbon Portugal
 126–150   101–125  University of Macau Macao
 126–150   101–125  North Carolina State University United States
 126–150   151–175  University of Padua Italy
 126–150   126–150  University of Sheffield United Kingdom
 126–150   92  Sorbonne University France
 126–150   126–150  University of Southampton United Kingdom
 126–150   176–200  Tufts University United States
 126–150   176–200  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University United States
 126–150   126–150  Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Netherlands
 126–150   101–125  Vrije Universiteit Brussel Belgium
 126–150   151–175  University of Wollongong Australia
 126–150   101–125  University of York United Kingdom
 126–150   176–200  York University Canada
 126–150   101–125  University of Zurich Switzerland
 151–175   151–175  Aalborg University Denmark
 151–175   201–250  Boston University United States
 151–175   126–150  University of California, Davis United States
 151–175   151–175  University of Campinas Brazil
 151–175   251–300  University of Central Florida United States
 151–175   126–150  University of Connecticut United States
 151–175   151–175  Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong
 151–175   =97  Huazhong University of Science and Technology China
 151–175   151–175  University of Leicester United Kingdom
 151–175   201–250  University of Luxembourg Luxembourg
 151–175   201–250  University of Minho Portugal
 151–175   151–175  Monterrey Institute of Technology Mexico
 151–175   126–150  University of Newcastle Australia
 151–175   126–150  University of Ottawa Canada
 151–175   151–175  Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris Malaysia
 151–175   201–250  Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Chile
 151–175   176–200  Queen’s University Belfast United Kingdom
 151–175   151–175  Queensland University of Technology Australia
 151–175   =94  University of Reading United Kingdom
 151–175   176–200  Universiti Sains Malaysia Malaysia
 151–175   151–175  University of Saskatchewan Canada
 151–175   151–175  Stockholm University Sweden
 151–175   251–300  Western Sydney University Australia
 176–200   301–400  Aix-Marseille University France
 176–200   251–300  University at Buffalo United States
 176–200   201–250  University of California, Santa Cruz United States
 176–200   126–150  Chung-Ang University South Korea
 176–200   151–175  University of Cologne Germany
 176–200   151–175  University of Delaware United States
 176–200   176–200  University of Geneva Switzerland
 176–200   251–300  University of Granada Spain
 176–200   201–250  Iowa State University United States
 176–200   251–300  University of Johannesburg South Africa
 176–200   201–250  La Trobe University Australia
 176–200   176–200  University of Mannheim Germany
 176–200   176–200  Mizzou - University of Missouri United States
 176–200   101–125  National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Taiwan
 176–200   151–175  University of Oulu Finland
 176–200   201–250  University of Potsdam Germany
 176–200   126–150  Queen’s University Canada
 176–200   251–300  RMIT University Australia
 176–200   201–250  Stellenbosch University South Africa
 176–200   126–150  Swansea University United Kingdom
 176–200   176–200  Syracuse University United States
 176–200   176–200  Tampere University Finland
 176–200   201–250  Tel Aviv University Israel
 176–200   151–175  TU Dortmund University Germany
 176–200   176–200  TU Dresden Germany

Editor’s note: As part of our THE statement on Ukraine published on 2 March 2022, Russian universities have been given less prominence in our rankings. Russian universities that met the criteria for this ranking are not displayed in the table above.

You may also like

Why study architecture?

What can you do with an architecture degree?

An essential guide if you are considering studying architecture at college

September 22 2022
sticky sign up

Register free and enjoy extra benefits