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Best Teaching Master's Degree Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Teaching Master's Degree Schools in Iowa

17 Schools Ranked

Today's teaching students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Also there are many trade schools and bpptcamp that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Teaching Degree Search has created the Best Teaching Master's Degree Schools in Iowa to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 17 schools in Iowa to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for teaching students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

Top Teaching Master's Degree Schools in Iowa

Learn more about these excellent schools below:

#1

Drake University

Des Moines, Iowa
$11,988 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Drake University the best school in Iowa for teaching students working on their master’s degree.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Drake does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 80% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on Drake University

#2

Northwestern College

Orange City, Iowa
$6,360 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 17 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern College landed the # 2 spot on the list.

You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at NWC. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 94% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Full Northwestern College Report

#3

Loras College

Dubuque, Iowa
$12,990 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Loras College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Teaching Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list.

Online graduate courses are available at Loras, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 44% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

Read More…

#4

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa
$10,569 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Northern Iowa is a great place for teaching students working on their master’s degree.

One thing to take note of is that UNI does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 67% took at least some of their classes online.

Read full report on University of Northern Iowa

#5

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, Iowa

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Buena Vista University is a great place for teaching students working on their master’s degree.

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at BVU. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 85% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Full Buena Vista University Report

#6

Simpson College

Indianola, Iowa
$6,606 Average Tuition & Fees

Simpson College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for teaching students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Simpson College does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 38% took at least some of their classes online.

Read More…

#7

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa
$9,850 Average Tuition & Fees

Dordt University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree teaching programs.

If you are interested in distance education, Dordt is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.

Full Dordt University Report

#8

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa
$18,640 Average Tuition & Fees

Saint Ambrose University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Teaching Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since St. Ambrose University does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 15% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on Saint Ambrose University

#9

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa
$12,065 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Iowa ranked #9 on this year’s Best Teaching Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list.

You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Iowa. During the 2019-2020 year, about 33% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on University of Iowa

#10

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa
$11,404 Average Tuition & Fees

Iowa State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Teaching Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking.

Iowa State does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 54% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read full report on Iowa State University

#11

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa
$9,440 Average Tuition & Fees

Grand View University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for teaching students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list.

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Grand View University. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 89% took at least some of their classes online.

Read More…

#12

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, Iowa
$11,176 Average Tuition & Fees

Mount Mercy University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Teaching Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list.

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Mount Mercy. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 62% took at least some of their classes online.

Read full report on Mount Mercy University

#13

Waldorf University

Forest City, Iowa
$4,835 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #13, Waldorf University did quite well on this year’s best schools for teaching students working on their master’s degree.

Since the graduate programs at Waldorf are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.

Read full report on Waldorf University

#14

Morningside College

Sioux City, Iowa

Morningside College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree teaching programs.

If you are interested in distance education, Morningside is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.

Read More…

#15

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, Iowa

Upper Iowa University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Teaching Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UIU does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 92% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on Upper Iowa University

$11,187 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #16, Graceland University - Lamoni did quite well on this year’s best schools for teaching students working on their master’s degree.

Since the graduate programs at Graceland Lamoni are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.

Full Graceland University - Lamoni Report

#17

Clarke University

Dubuque, Iowa
$14,147 Average Tuition & Fees

Clarke University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Teaching Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Clarke does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 7% took at least some of their classes online.

Read full report on Clarke University

Best Teaching Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

View Best Teaching Master’s Degree Schools Nationwide >

Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 17 schools only.

References

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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