Master in Teaching School Rankings
The most widely quoted source on college rankings is the US News and World Report annual survey of US universities, colleges and graduate schools. Our list of schools for the best Masters in Teaching schools is drawn from this survey’s review of graduate programs in education. There are many universities with top tier departments of education that do not offer the Masters in Teaching (MIT) or the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), but rather confine their degree designations to the Master of Education or some related title.
The Master in Teaching programs that have sprung up around the country generally have two purposes: to provide working teachers with a way to upgrade their credentials and to provide a degree program for college graduates with a degree other than education who are interested in teaching. Our list of programs delineates the top ranked schools with focused graduate level teaching degrees.
1. Columbia University Teachers College has the master’s in teaching degrees scattered through an enormous catalog of educational options in the graduate degree catalogue. Most of the programs for master’s in teaching at the secondary level require 38 credits, while the master of education program in the same field is 60 credits. Degrees leading to certification as a New York teacher are available in every category and specialty.
2. Michigan State University offers a master’s in teaching and curriculum program that for new teachers is a thirty credit curriculum requiring two years in school. Licensed teachers can transfer credits and complete the program in one year. MSU also offers a masters degree in teaching literacy for students interested in working with urban or diverse migrant populations.
3. University of Washington master’s in teaching program leads to licensure qualification for elementary school teachers and for secondary school teachers in a specific subject. Incoming students must meet the academic prerequisites for both the university’s Graduate School and for the Teacher Education Program.
4. University of Oregon has a pre-licensure teacher’s program in graduate studies for elementary school teaching and for subject areas at the middle school and secondary school levels. It is a five semester program that includes a full year of student teaching. There is also a special education master’s degree program available with four areas of concentration to choose from.
5. Johns Hopkins University offers the master’s in teaching for primary school teaching, middle school and secondary school teaching, and for those who wish to specialize in teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL). There is a flex part-time program and an immersion program that can be completed in one year.
6. University of California/Los Angeles has a two year master’s degree program leading to licensure. There is also a program for undergraduate mathematics majors to begin their graduate studies leading to a master’s degree and a teaching credential. Part of the program is a paid internship working in the classroom, teaching mathematics while working towards a graduate degree.
7. University of Texas/Dallas offers the master’s in teaching only to those students who already are licensed as teachers and wish to upgrade their credential to advanced teaching status. It is offered as a graduate program in the humanities. This degree program is also available online through the University of Texas TeleCampus.
8. Ohio State University has a master of arts in the School of Teaching and Learning that is designed for working teachers who achieved their licensure with a bachelor’s degree. There are also master’s degree tracks for individuals with undergraduate degree in other fields who wish to develop educational programs outside the public school system in such fields as art, history, or within a museum setting.
9. University of Michigan has a master’s degree in educational studies with several career track options. Those include working toward certification as an elementary school teacher, a secondary school teacher, an overall degree in teaching and learning, and a digital media & education option.
10. New York University offers the master’s in teaching degrees with separate titles based on the field of teaching the student has selected. The master’s degree for teaching social studies is a Master of Social Studies Education; for math it is the Master of Mathematics Education, and so forth. These are one year programs for working teachers. There is also a Master’s in Special Education with several areas of specialization.
