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2024 Best Elementary Education Schools in Illinois

38 Colleges in Illinois
1,713 Elementary Teaching Degrees Awarded
Ranked #17 in popularity, elementary education is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 38 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for elementary education students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,713 degrees in elementary education during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Elementary Education School

Best Elementary Education Schools in Illinois Your choice of elementary education school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for elementary education schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each 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.

Elementary Education Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Elementary Teaching
Master's Degrees in Elementary Teaching

The elementary teaching school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Elementary Education Schools in Illinois. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Elementary Education in Illinois

The schools below may not offer all types of elementary teaching degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Illinois Schools in Elementary Teaching

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In IL
68 Elementary Teaching Degrees Awarded

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great choice for students interested in a degree in elementary education. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were about 68 elementary education students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in elementary education from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
17th Most Popular In IL
31 Elementary Teaching Degrees Awarded

Loyola University Chicago is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in elementary education. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were approximately 31 elementary education students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in elementary education from Loyola University Chicago

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL
248 Elementary Teaching Degrees Awarded

Illinois State University is a wonderful option for students interested in a degree in elementary education. Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal. A Best Colleges rank of #231 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 248 elementary education students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in elementary education from Illinois State University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
16th Most Popular In IL
38 Elementary Teaching Degrees Awarded

University of Chicago is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in elementary education. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were about 38 elementary education students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in elementary education from University of Chicago

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
19th Most Popular In IL
3.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Wheaton, Wheaton College Illinois is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #257 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Wheaton College Illinois is a great college overall.

There were about 29 elementary education students who graduated with this degree at Wheaton College Illinois in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in elementary education from Wheaton College Illinois

6
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In IL
77 Elementary Teaching Degrees Awarded

DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #203 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.

There were about 77 elementary education students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in elementary education from DePaul University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
17th Most Popular In IL
31 Elementary Teaching Degrees Awarded

Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Peoria. A Best Colleges rank of #309 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Bradley is a great university overall.

There were about 31 elementary education students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in elementary education from Bradley University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL
167 Elementary Teaching Degrees Awarded

NLU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #393 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means NLU is a great university overall.

There were about 167 elementary education students who graduated with this degree at NLU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in elementary education from National Louis University

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In IL
77 Elementary Teaching Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 24th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 77 elementary education students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in elementary education from Northern Illinois University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
32nd Most Popular In IL

Located in the suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #170 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Concordia University, Chicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 14 elementary education students who graduated with this degree at Concordia University, Chicago in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in elementary education from Concordia University, Chicago

Best Elementary Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Elementary Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Ohio 939 304
Michigan 915 704
Indiana 737 1,419
Wisconsin 672 1,105

View All Rankings >

One of 13 majors within the Teacher Education Grade Specific area of study, Elementary Education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Elementary Teaching

Related Major Annual Graduates
Early Childhood Education 1,067
Secondary Education 370
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education & Teaching 308
Teacher Development & Methodology 69
Teacher Education 36
Kindergarten/Preschool Education & Teaching 14
Adult & Continuing Education 2

View All Elementary Teaching Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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