ASU leads in education research

Arizona State University leads the nation in funded research related to education, according to the 2023-24 U.S. News & World Report ranking of graduate colleges of education. In the 2022 academic year, ASU reported $73.1 million in education research expenditures. New York University reported the second highest funded research total of $71.4 million. This is the second consecutive year that ASU has ranked first in the survey of 272 graduate colleges of education in research spending. 

Carole Basile, dean of Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, says that ASU’s consistent success in attracting funds for education research reflects the commitments articulated in both the ASU Charter and the mission of Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. “We are a university and a college committed to developing master learners. The research our faculty do covers everything from the science of teaching and learning to education policy, technology and design.” 

Additionally, U.S. News & World Report identified the following graduate specialties at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College as among the best in the nation: 

• No.   8 – Best Master’s in Elementary Education Programs
• No. 12 – Best Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction Programs
• No. 12 – Best Master’s in Special Education Programs
• No. 13 – Best Master’s in Educational Administration Programs
• No. 14 – Best Master’s in Special Education
• No. 15 – Best Master’s in Education Policy Programs
• No. 17 – Best Master’s in Secondary Education Programs

“If a school consistently is at or near the top of the charts in research, maintains a portfolio of highly regarded programs and does all this while explicitly rejecting the culture of exclusion that has so distorted higher education, it's probably doing something right,” said Basile. “And it's probably doing the most important things right. It’s important for us to be excellent, and it’s important for us to be accessible and inclusive. In fact, when it comes to education, we don’t think excellence really exists without accessibility and inclusivity.” 

The college now offers its graduate-level teacher preparation programs in two online formats. Arizona residents can choose between either the asynchronous format delivered via ASU Online or a synchronous format delivered via ASU Sync. Students who reside outside Arizona can take classes asynchronously. In both modalities, students complete professional residencies in-person in schools near where they live.

The college’s non-teacher-prep graduate programs, which include both master’s and doctoral degrees, have seen increases in enrollment every year since fall 2013, growing from 1,647 students to 4,181 students in fall 2022. 

Basile noted that the power of her college’s research strength combined with the scale, range and quality of May Lou Fulton Teachers College’s degree programs distinguishes the college. “Education is about people and ideas. We have a lot of both. We have the intellectual dynamism and the human presence to work consistently and powerfully toward making positive changes in educational practice, educational systems and the knowledge base that underlies both.”