Find top-ranked online master’s in education degree programs to help students hone their teaching skills and prepare for roles in curriculum development, higher education, or administration.
Passionate teachers seeking to progress in their field can pursue a master’s of education (M.Ed.) to help hone their teaching skills and prepare for roles in curriculum development, higher education, or administration.
While a M.Ed. is not required to teach elementary or secondary school, gaining your degree often comes with a pay raise, and a master’s is needed to teach at the college level.
A M.Ed. can typically be completed in two years and focuses on topics such as educational leadership, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design.
Many programs have flexible schedules, allowing candidates to maintain their teaching jobs while furthering their own education. Online programs can be taken at night or on weekends so that working professionals can balance their educational goals with their existing classroom responsibilities.
Learn more about what you can do with a master’s in education.
The following graph depicts the average salaries of similar occupations to Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in the U.S.
Source: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
40%
Graduation
88%
Student body
39K
Median SAT/ACT
1355/31
Tuition + fees
$62K
Acceptance
19%
Graduation
91%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1415/32
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
66%
Graduation
62%
Student body
39K
Median SAT/ACT
1215/25
Tuition + fees
$16K
Acceptance
66%
Graduation
84%
Student body
30K
Median SAT/ACT
1295/29
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
68%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1175/25
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
63%
Graduation
80%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1275/27
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
77%
Student body
12K
Median SAT/ACT
1255/28
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
56%
Graduation
83%
Student body
24K
Median SAT/ACT
1280/29
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
63%
Graduation
56%
Student body
20K
Median SAT/ACT
1100/23
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
47%
Graduation
84%
Student body
31K
Median SAT/ACT
1320/29
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
70%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1185/26
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
62%
Student body
17K
Median SAT/ACT
1160/24
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
68%
Student body
19K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/26
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
68%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1155/24
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
68%
Graduation
63%
Student body
36K
Median SAT/ACT
1155/24
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
57%
Student body
10K
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
60%
Student body
36K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/23
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
36%
Graduation
75%
Student body
63K
Median SAT/ACT
1250/27
Tuition + fees
$42K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
70%
Student body
19K
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
63%
Student body
18K
Median SAT/ACT
1160/23
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
48%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/23
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
59%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1105/23
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
63%
Graduation
23%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
965/18
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
58%
Student body
17K
Median SAT/ACT
1070/22
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
30%
Student body
6K
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
39%
Student body
102K
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
66%
Student body
22K
Median SAT/ACT
1215/25
Tuition + fees
$5K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
55%
Student body
26K
Median SAT/ACT
1140/23
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
66%
Student body
27K
Median SAT/ACT
1195/24
Tuition + fees
$23K
Acceptance
99%
Graduation
62%
Student body
79K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/25
Tuition + fees
$45K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
59%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1115/25
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
59%
Student body
1K
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
59%
Student body
25K
Tuition + fees
$16K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
69%
Student body
15K
Median SAT/ACT
1230/26
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
45%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1020/20
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
54%
Student body
24K
Median SAT/ACT
1081/21
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
48%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
910/17
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
30%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
980/19
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
67%
Student body
21K
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
30%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
985/20
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
51%
Student body
37K
Median SAT/ACT
1150/24
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
100%
Graduation
45%
Student body
20K
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
39%
Student body
9K
Tuition + fees
$53K
Acceptance
53%
Graduation
80%
Student body
8K
Tuition + fees
$31K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
67%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1076/20
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
52%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1020/21
Tuition + fees
$46K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
78%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1225/26
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
54%
Student body
18K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/23
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
39%
Student body
14K
Median SAT/ACT
1041/20
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
51%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
985/21
If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require some adjustment. While you’ll generally learn the same content and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, the medium will likely require you to manage much of this experience independently. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, your ability to harness the technology at your fingertips, and your ability to focus on the lectures, lessons, and assignments at hand. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take it upon yourself to build relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.
No. The only part of online education that’s easier is actually getting there. Taking the commute out of the equation means getting to class should be a lot more manageable. But that’s where it ends. In general, your online courses will incorporate the very same materials, concepts, and testing methods as would a traditional classroom.
And in many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning or working with remote learning technology for the first time, online college may even be a little more challenging for you. For a few insights on how to manage this new experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.
Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable institutions and less-than-reputable for-profit schools. Accreditation gives you the power to differentiate between the two. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency which indicates that a college or university is meeting standards of quality, credibility, and currency. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.
Attending a college or university which is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. When seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that students opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree.
As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited, you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer. In many cases, you will be required to navigate a bureaucracy in which some of your credits will be transferred and others will be jettisoned. However, provided that you have attended an online school with the proper regional accreditation, you should have plenty of options for transfer.
In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript or resume differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.
While some employers may express concern about making the adjustment from online education to in-person workplace collaboration, many other employers will view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st Century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.
If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will require some adjustment.
While there is much that can be supplanted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing which can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual classroom setting. As you make the adjustment to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face is overcoming this difference in order to the get the most out of your classes. Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.
The advantages of online classes are many. First and foremost, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.
Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.