2026 U.S. News Education School (Graduate) Rankings

263 schools · Source: U.S. News 2026 (published 2026) · Admission and tuition figures are school-wide undergraduate data. Acceptance rate for fall 2025, international tuition for 2025 (IPEDS)

School Program

See World University Rankings

Showing the top 100 of 263

1

Same

University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin
Admit 45.2% $42,103 15.6% international
=2

↑ 4

Northwestern University Illinois
Admit 7.7% $68,322 22.0% international
=2

↑ 4

University of Florida Florida
Admit 24.2% $28,659 9.1% international
=2

Same

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan
Admit 15.6% $63,081 16.4% international
5

↓ 3

Vanderbilt University Tennessee
Admit 5.9% $67,498 13.5% international
=6

Same

Harvard University Massachusetts
Admit 3.6% $61,676 26.5% international
=6

Same

New York University New York
Admit 9.2% $62,796 33.8% international
=6

↓ 4

Teachers College at Columbia University New York
34.2% international
=6

Same

The University of Texas at Austin Texas
Admit 26.6% $44,908 9.7% international
=6

Same

University of California-Berkeley California
Admit 11.0% $47,265 15.8% international
=6

↓ 1

University of California-Los Angeles California
Admit 9.0% $46,121 13.4% international
=6

Same

University of Virginia-Main Campus Virginia
Admit 16.8% $61,591 9.6% international
=13

↑ 1

Johns Hopkins University Maryland
Admit 6.4% $64,730 27.0% international
=13

↑ 2

Stanford University California
Admit 3.6% $65,910 25.7% international
=13

↓ 7

University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
Admit 5.4% $68,686 23.7% international
=16

↑ 2

Florida State University Florida
Admit 24.2% $21,683 5.5% international
=16

↓ 1

University of Kansas Kansas
Admit 93.5% $30,432 6.4% international
=16

↓ 1

University of Oregon Oregon
Admit 88.3% $42,516 3.4% international
=19

↑ 1

Arizona State University-Tempe Arizona
Admit 89.9% $33,139 15.7% international
=19

↑ 1

Boston College Massachusetts
Admit 16.4% $70,702 10.5% international
=19

↑ 3

Michigan State University Michigan
Admit 84.8% $44,850 8.5% international
=19

↓ 1

University of California-Irvine California
Admit 28.6% $46,640 15.7% international
=19

↑ 5

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia
Admit 92.6% $39,884 4.1% international
=24

Same

University of Maryland-College Park Maryland
Admit 44.8% $41,186 11.7% international
=24

↓ 2

University of Washington-Seattle Campus Washington
Admit 39.1% $43,209 14.0% international
=26

↑ 1

North Carolina State University at Raleigh North Carolina
Admit 41.7% $32,847 9.7% international
=26

↑ 1

Ohio State University-Main Campus Ohio
Admit 60.6% $40,022 10.2% international
=26

↑ 5

University of Delaware Delaware
Admit 70.6% $41,400 11.3% international
=26

↓ 2

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minnesota
Admit 79.7% $38,362 9.5% international
=26

↑ 5

University of Missouri-Columbia Missouri
Admit 78.5% $36,056 4.5% international
=26

↑ 1

University of South Carolina-Columbia South Carolina
Admit 60.2% $36,298 4.4% international
=32

↓ 1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois
Admit 42.4% $40,096 22.5% international
=32

↓ 1

University of Iowa Iowa
Admit 83.6% $33,371 4.7% international
=32

↓ 5

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina
Admit 15.3% $41,203 8.0% international
=35

↑ 5

Boston University Massachusetts
Admit 11.1% $68,102 26.3% international
=35

↑ 2

Indiana University-Bloomington Indiana
Admit 78.2% $41,891 10.3% international
=35

↑ 2

Texas A & M University-College Station Texas
Admit 57.4% $40,124 6.9% international
=35

↑ 2

University of Connecticut Connecticut
Admit 52.4% $43,712 11.5% international
=35

Same

University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pennsylvania
Admit 58.1% $41,430 8.9% international
40

↓ 5

Utah State University Utah
Admit 92.5% $24,993 1.9% international
=41

↑ 4

Georgia State University Georgia
Admit 55.4% $24,840 8.3% international
=41

↑ 4

San Diego State University California
Admit 36.2% $21,328 3.3% international
=41

↓ 1

Temple University Pennsylvania
Admit 80.4% $38,805 6.8% international
=41

↓ 1

University of California-Davis California
Admit 41.8% $47,692 14.9% international
=41

↓ 1

University of Central Florida Florida
Admit 40.1% $22,467 4.6% international
=41

↓ 1

University of Georgia Georgia
Admit 37.7% $31,688 5.7% international
=47

↑ 2

Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Jersey
Admit 58.1% $37,441 10.1% international
=47

↑ 2

Southern Methodist University Texas
Admit 63.3% $67,040 9.2% international
=47

↓ 2

The Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania
Admit 60.6% $41,790 14.9% international
=47

↑ 7

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee
Admit 41.6% $33,256 3.7% international
=47

↑ 7

University at Buffalo New York
Admit 74.2% $31,536 19.8% international
=47

↓ 2

University of Massachusetts-Boston Massachusetts
Admit 83.8% $38,115 10.5% international
=47

↑ 2

University of South Florida-Main Campus Florida
Admit 43.2% $17,324 10.7% international
=54

Same

Clemson University South Carolina
Admit 38.3% $40,866 5.8% international
=54

↓ 5

College of William and Mary Virginia
Admit 34.1% $51,038 5.4% international
=54

↓ 5

Purdue University-Main Campus Indiana
Admit 49.9% $28,794 17.0% international
=57

↓ 3

Howard University D.C.
Admit 41.3% $35,810 4.4% international
=57

↑ 4

The University of Alabama Alabama
Admit 76.6% $34,172 3.0% international
=57

↓ 3

University of Arizona Arizona
Admit 86.1% $39,903 6.5% international
=57

↑ 4

University of Arkansas Arkansas
Admit 74.3% $29,966 3.6% international
=57

↓ 3

University of Colorado Boulder Colorado
Admit 78.1% $42,970 6.4% international
=57

↑ 8

University of Hawaii at Manoa Hawaii
Admit 86.6% $34,218 6.2% international
=57

↓ 3

University of Kentucky Kentucky
Admit 92.9% $34,140 3.5% international
=64

↑ 9

University of Illinois at Chicago Illinois
Admit 77.4% $32,009 12.4% international
=64

↓ 3

University of Mississippi Mississippi
Admit 96.6% $28,600 3.2% international
=64

↑ 1

University of Missouri--Kansas City Missouri
Admit 72.2% $32,271 8.2% international
=64

↑ 5

University of Nevada--Las Vegas Nevada
Admit 96.2% $27,411 3.1% international
=64

↑ 5

University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Oklahoma
Admit 76.6% $27,377 5.9% international
=69

↑ 4

Kansas State University Kansas
Admit 81.7% $28,568 4.8% international
=69

↑ 12

Syracuse University New York
Admit 45.9% $65,528 15.1% international
=69

↓ 4

University of Idaho Idaho
Admit 75.5% $28,320 6.8% international
=69

↓ 8

University of Louisville Kentucky
Admit 79.4% $29,482 3.8% international
=69

↑ 4

University of Vermont Vermont
Admit 65.3% $45,502 3.1% international
=74

↑ 26

Auburn University Alabama
Admit 45.9% $34,922 5.2% international
=74

↓ 1

George Washington University D.C.
Admit 47.1% $67,710 14.5% international
=74

↓ 1

Lehigh University Pennsylvania
Admit 25.9% $64,980 12.9% international
=74

↓ 5

Northern Arizona University Arizona
Admit 89.6% $20,044 4.0% international
=74

↑ 7

Oregon State University Oregon
Admit 77.3% $38,190 5.9% international
=74

↑ 16

University of California-Riverside California
Admit 76.4% $46,524 8.8% international
=74

↑ 16

University of California-Santa Barbara California
Admit 33.0% $47,332 11.9% international
=74

↑ 7

University of Massachusetts-Amherst Massachusetts
Admit 59.7% $40,449 14.2% international
=74

↓ 5

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska
Admit 87.5% $28,584 6.8% international
=74

↑ 26

University of Rochester New York
Admit 40.1% $67,080 30.1% international
=84

↑ 86

Eastern Michigan University Michigan
Admit 79.6% $16,990 5.6% international
=84

↑ 16

Florida International University Florida
Admit 54.7% $18,964 8.5% international
=84

↑ 6

George Mason University Virginia
Admit 87.5% $38,688 10.7% international
=84

↓ 19

Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Oklahoma
Admit 75.0% $25,630 5.5% international
=84

↑ 16

SUNY at Albany New York
Admit 69.1% $30,991 10.3% international
=84

↓ 3

Texas Tech University Texas
Admit 72.6% $24,157 7.1% international
=84

↑ 6

University of Colorado Denver Colorado
Admit 74.7% $29,391 7.6% international
=84

↓ 3

University of Nevada-Reno Nevada
Admit 73.7% $27,720 3.2% international
=84

↑ 53

University of New Hampshire-Main Campus New Hampshire
Admit 88.2% $39,852 3.3% international
=84

↓ 11

University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina
Admit 79.6% $22,492 7.2% international
=84

↓ 11

University of Utah Utah
Admit 86.0% $30,860 8.5% international
=95

↓ 5

Florida Atlantic University Florida
Admit 66.1% $17,324 7.7% international
=95

↓ 14

Illinois State University Illinois
Admit 88.2% $26,058 2.8% international
=95

↓ 5

Loyola University Chicago Illinois
Admit 81.6% $53,710 3.1% international
=95

↓ 5

Old Dominion University Virginia
Admit 90.4% $33,780 3.2% international
=95

↑ 5

University of Denver Colorado
Admit 77.8% $61,398 5.5% international
=95

↓ 14

University of Houston Texas
Admit 73.9% $22,547 10.5% international

U.S. News 2026 Best Education Schools: Methodology

The 2026 U.S. News Best Education Schools rankings were published in April 2026. U.S. News surveyed 510 doctoral-granting schools of education. There are also specialty rankings such as curriculum and instruction, education policy, higher education administration and special education.

Methodology

The overall list combines four groups of indicators, with the same weights as the previous three editions:

Reputation: ratings by education school deans and graduate deans (12.5%), plus ratings by employers such as school district superintendents.
Research activity: total research expenditures and research expenditures per faculty member.
Student selectivity: doctoral acceptance rate and similar measures.
Faculty resources: student-faculty ratio, doctoral degrees granted and similar measures.

Specialty ranks rely only on nominations by deans and graduate deans.

How to use this ranking

Research indicators carry a large weight, so education schools at research universities have an edge; programs focused on preparing K-12 teachers do not necessarily rank high.
The acceptance rate, tuition and international share on this page are the school's undergraduate figures (IPEDS), not the graduate program's.

Sources

Compiled by Forward Pathway, updated 2026-11-04