MLFTC graduate programs are among the top in the nation

Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College continues to be one of the best graduate colleges of education in the United States, according to the 2024-25 U.S. News & World Report ranking of graduate colleges of education. In addition to ranking #17 overall out of 253 institutions that completed the survey, ahead of Michigan State University, The Ohio State University and Washington University, ASU ranked #2 nationally in reported education research expenditures with $77.6 million. 

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

• No 9 – Best Master’s in Elementary Education Programs, ahead of University of Texas, Austin, Stanford University and University of California, Los Angeles.
• No. 12 – Best Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction Programs, ahead of University of California, Los Angeles, Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania.
• No. 15 – Best Master’s in Secondary Education Programs, ahead of University of Pennsylvania, University of California, Berkeley and New York University.
• Tied for No. 18 – Best Master’s in Higher Education Administration Programs, along with New York University, University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University.
• Tied for No. 19 – Best Master’s in Special Education Programs, along with University of Georgia, and ahead of The Ohio State University.
• Tied for No. 22 – Best Master’s in Education Policy Programs, along with The Ohio State University, Boston College and Indiana University, Bloomington.
• Tied for No. 25 – Best Master’s in Educational Administration and Supervision Programs, along with Boston College and ahead of New York University.

“We try to do the important things right,” said Carole Basile, dean of Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. “Above all, that means our commitment to inclusive excellence. ASU clearly rejects the culture of exclusion that has distorted so much of higher education. At the same time, we concede nothing when it comes to the quality of our programs or the insight and productivity of our faculty.”

In an effort to make high-quality programs as accessible to as many people as possible, the college offers a broad portfolio of both campus-based and online programs that address not only teacher-preparation but also such topics as learning design and technology, educational leadership and more. 

Basile says that Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College is consistently ranked among the best graduate colleges of education in the country because it has a distinctive approach to what a college of education should be. 

“The reason people want to study and learn with us — and the reason our researchers keep getting funded and attracting partners and collaborators — is because of our purpose as expressed in the ASU Charter’s commitment to take fundamental responsibility for the overall health of the communities we serve. 

“If our rankings were high but we just credentialed more people and sent them into education systems that aren’t serving learners as well as they could or should, we would not view that as success. For us, success is developing people and ideas that make education systems work better for learners, educators and communities.”