Top 5 Online PhD in Education Programs

by Luke Mueller

A PhD in education can take you far. If your dream is to be part of the academe and to help shape the minds of our future leaders, a PhD in education is extremely important. And if you want to pursue this degree now, it is advisable that you take a look at the top 5 online PhD in Education programs in the nation first.

According to the US News & World Report, the top 5 online PhD in Education programs are offered by:

  1. Vanderbilt University
  2. Stanford University
  3. Teacher’s College, Columbia University
  4. University of Oregon
  5. University of California – LA

The US News & World report employs a valid system in coming up with the top colleges in the nation and the world. For graduate programs and schools that offer these programs, a more specific method is employed. For graduate education programs, an even more specific and rigorous system is used.

Much like the other graduate programs that were ranked, quality assessment, student selectivity, and faculty resources are analyzed and weighted. For the education programs, other quality measures are utilized as well. One example is research activity. The latter accounts for 30% of a program’s overall ranking.

In terms of quality assessment, two points of view are taken into consideration. One is peer assessment and the other is superintendent assessment score. For the former, education school deans are asked to rate a school for the quality of its education program. For the second score, superintendents from all over the country are asked to rate the programs of the schools included.

For the faculty resources, the percent of faculty with awards and the doctoral degrees granted are also taken into consideration. And for the research activity measure, the amount of money used for research is a factor that affects the school’s ranking.