UF College of Education Ascends to No. 8 Among America’s Best Public Graduate Education Schools

Building upon previous achievements, the College of Education at the University of Florida continues to ascend the ranks, leaping two spots to No. 8 among public education colleges in the 2024-2025 Best Graduate Education Schools by U.S. News & World Report. UF also advances two spots among all education schools – public and private – to No. 16, solidifying the school’s position among the top education colleges in the country. The university’s sustained rise in rankings is unparalleled by any other college of education in the nation.

In specialty rankings, both the Counseling and Special Education programs received top-five designations in their respective areas, with the Counseling program given the nation’s top spot at No. 1. Three other programs received notable rankings in the report – Elementary Education (No. 17), Educational Administration (No. 17) and Curriculum and Instruction (No. 21). Specialty rankings were based on assessment from academic peers, where UF was recognized in all possible categories.

The College of Education has also been regarded as a leader in online graduate education for nearly a decade, earning either the first or second designation in the country since first reaching No. 1 in 2015. These online programs provide effective, accessible options for students looking to acquire essential career skills and make an indelible impact in the educational community and society at large.

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“Transforming education is the outcome of our efforts to generate practical solutions for society’s greatest challenges, as evidenced by our unstoppable rise in national rankings. True to our mission, we are preparing exemplary practitioners and scholars to contribute meaningfully to the workforce of tomorrow.”

Glenn Good

College of Education Dean

Supporting the college’s academic reputation, a substantial increase in research funding served as a primary driver for the advancement in ranking. This year, the college saw a 77.1% increase in externally funded research and a 74.3% increase in funded research per faculty. The college also maintained impressive scores in other metrics used by U.S. News, including acceptance rates, student-faculty ratios and reputation surveys of educational professionals.

U.S. News Ranking

To create these rankings, U.S. News surveyed 456 graduate education schools granting doctoral degrees in four key areas – research activity, quality assessment, faculty resources and student selectivity – with 255 providing the data required to complete the survey.

These remarkable recognitions reflect not only UF’s position as a pioneer in innovative research but also the talent and tenacity of the college’s faculty, staff, alumni and students. The entire College of Education community is committed to aligning efforts around technology and artificial intelligence integration, enhancing policy and practice development, creating pathways from birth to college graduation, and innovating career readiness.

“Our continued climb in the rankings serves to quantify with annual metrics what we know to be true every day of the year. UF’s College of Education has extremely talented and committed faculty and staff that are pioneering new research and teaching practices to meaningfully impact our students and society.”