<p>I'm a freshman at Brandeis University and, after taking courses here for a little less than a month, have decided that the major I originally intended to pursue isn't as interesting as I thought.</p>
<p>The other choice I had throughout my college application process was to be a high school teacher, and I'm beginning to think that that would've been the best idea.</p>
<p>Could anyone give me any ideas of some schools in the northeast (preferably Massachusetts) with good education programs? I'm not necessarily looking for a school that's at the same level as Brandeis; maybe UMass Amherst? Also, a good history program is a plus, since that's what I'd like to teach. Lastly, since cost is an issue, I'd rather find a school that's not as expensive as Brandeis.</p>
<p>harvard, ucla, and columbia are the top education schools in the country. but as far as east coast schools being excellent in education and also inexpensive, im not sure if i personally know of any. Check out us news rankings and evaluate the top 30 or so education programs, im sure some of them are public or somewhat affordable.</p>
<p>Brandeis has an excellent education program at the elementary and high school levels. You minor it in, and it allows you to get certification in Massachusetts.</p>
<p>From what I've heard, it's generally better, and more desirable, to attend a school that has an integrated bachelor's/master's program; Brandeis doesn't have that.</p>
<p>Also, the cost is an issue. Brandeis is a very expensive school, and I can't see any reason to spend so much to get a teaching certification from a school that isn't known for it's education program. I've also done a lot of looking into Brandeis' program, and I'm not very impressed with the course offerings.</p>
<p>State schools are not out of the picture for me, but it would be tough for me to convince my parents to let me to go to, say, Bridgewater State College. If I went to a state school, I think the only option would be UMass Amherst.</p>
<p>Someone also mentioned UConn to me; they told me it has both a good education department and an excellent history department (which is what I'd like to teach). Any opinions on either of those schools?</p>
<p>Here is a list of top national universities sorted by the proportion of bachelors graduates in education. IPEDS 2004</p>
<p>university, SAT 75th percentile, total bachelors graduates, number of bachelors graduates in education, proportion of bachelors graduates in education</p>
<p>INDIANA UNIVERSITY-BLOOMINGTON 1220 6172 1006 0.163
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY 1290 2296 309 0.135
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY 1320 6829 789 0.116
MIAMI UNIVERSITY-OXFORD 1320 3784 437 0.115
UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE 1280 3392 391 0.115
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA 1320 5769 613 0.106
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY 1300 3020 306 0.101
BOSTON COLLEGE 1410 2223 195 0.088
AUBURN UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS 1210 3917 328 0.084
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY 1230 4523 363 0.080
PURDUE UNIVERSITY-MAIN CAMPUS 1260 6242 487 0.078
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY-MAIN CAMPUS 1290 9134 600 0.066
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA 1280 4086 247 0.060
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND-COLLEGE PARK 1370 5959 357 0.060
TUFTS UNIVERSITY 1470 1336 73 0.055
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA 1240 4015 201 0.050
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY-MAIN CAMPUS 1280 8288 380 0.046
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY 1440 1514 67 0.044
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY 1320 2798 108 0.039
SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY-MAIN CAMPUS 1320 1614 62 0.038
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1240 7783 287 0.037
YESHIVA UNIVERSITY 1350 575 21 0.037
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-TWIN CITIES 1280 6049 219 0.036
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 1410 6763 241 0.036
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON 1390 6336 203 0.032
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT 1270 3673 107 0.029
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 1360 8574 247 0.029
BOSTON UNIVERSITY 1390 3991 107 0.027
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI 1350 2155 52 0.024
THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE 1240 4035 91 0.023
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-ANN ARBOR 1390 5923 122 0.021
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY 1410 4492 90 0.020
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEW BRUNSWICK 1310 5734 110 0.019</p>
<p>Does the number in the department mean a better dept? Can a very small number mean that the school does not have great resourses in that major? My daughter is looking for a smaller school, under 6,000 with a good dept.</p>
<p>The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) prolly has the best education program in this state. Every year one or two of my teachers have assistants who are TCNJ students, and they actually get to teach. Like today the assistant in AP Euro led our class discussion.</p>
<p>My daughter is a senior ed major at a small private college in IL. I asked a friend in the administration of our school district about what they look for when they hire new teachers before my daughter started college. She said experience, not where the diploma is from, is the most important thing. They like it when the prospect shows committment year round. For instance my daughter has always been a camp counselor or day care worker every summer since she was 16. </p>
<p>Look for a college that gets you in the classroom early. My daughter has had three different teaching experiences and started as a sophomore besides working as an aide her senior year in High School. I know too many people that did not student teach until their senior year of college and then realized they did not want to teach.</p>
<p>If you go out of state make sure your college has a reciprocal agreement with your home state in case you want to go back there. My daughters college has a very small education department but they do an excellent job. No ed major at her school has ever failed the teacher qualifying tests. Just because a school has a big ed department does not mean it's doing a terriffic job. Good luck!</p>