Indiana Teacher Colleges and Degrees Online Guide

For anyone looking for teaching schools in Indiana, this guide to teacher preparation schools is designed to provide key information on available programs in the state. There are several options for colleges and universities that provide degree programs for aspiring teachers. The information found below can help you choose which program is right for your future career needs. For information on the various teaching degrees found in Indiana schools, take a look at our table of accredited, state-approved teacher preparation programs, lists of top-rated teaching programs, and student reviews. Whether you are a first-time student or looking to change careers, this guide can help you find the teaching program that is best for your personal career goals.

Table of Contents

• Teacher Preparation Program Comparison
• Top-Ranked Schools with Education Programs
• Select Schools with Teacher Preparation Degrees
• Schools with Associate Degrees in Education
• Student Reviews

Quick Facts

• There are 46 colleges and universities with teacher degree programs in Indiana.¹
• 6 schools offer an associate’s degree in education.¹
• 44 schools offer a bachelor’s degree in education.¹
• 31 schools offer a master’s or advanced degree in education.¹
• 1 school ranked in Princeton Review’s Great Schools for Education Majors 2022.²
• 5 schools ranked in US News & World Report’s Best Graduate Education Programs 2022.³
• 5 schools ranked in US News & World Report’s Best Online Graduate Education Programs 2022.⁴
• 35 educator preparation providers (EPPs) are accredited by the NCATE, TEAC, or CAEP.⁵

For not-for-profit schools with teacher degree programs.

Comparison of Indiana Schools with Teacher Preparation Programs

We have designed the following table to help you compare teacher preparation programs in Indiana according to various factors. All of the schools included are not-for-profit institutions approved by the Indiana Department of Education for the preparation of teachers. Completing a state-approved teacher preparation program is an important step towards earning licensure.

While accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is not a requirement for licensure, it is included in the following table as CAEP provides a highly-regarded accreditation that is accepted in many states.

You will also find data on teacher preparation program enrollment, completion, and licensing exam pass rates by institution for both traditional and alternative programs, for the 2018-2019 academic year in this table. These data points are collected from annual US Department of Education reports under Title II (Teacher Quality) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which holds institutions and state departments of education accountable for increasing academic achievement through improvements in teacher quality. Traditional teacher preparation programs are usually completed as part of a bachelor’s degree program. Alternative certification programs are typically designed for career changers looking to enter the field and lead to a postgraduate certificate or a master’s degree. Many schools in our table offer both traditional and alternative programs. Take a look at our Indiana traditional and alternative certification guides for more information.

Finally, we have provided the net price per year for undergraduate tuition, based on the cost of attendance (tuition, books, room and board, and related expenses) for students who qualify for in-state tuition and fees, less the average financial aid award (including grants and scholarships).

• — indicates none or not applicable.
• N.Av. indicates data was not available or pass rates were omitted for confidentiality.

Top-Ranked Schools with Education Programs in Indiana

Princeton Review’s Great Schools for Education Majors 2022

• Indiana University-Bloomington

US News & World Report’s Best Graduate Education Programs 2021

• Indiana University-Bloomington (#41 tie)
• Purdue University-West Lafayette (#51 tie)
• Ball State University (#91 tie)
• Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis (#103 tie)
• Oakland City University (#211-277)

US News & World Report’s Best Online Graduate Education Programs 2022

• Purdue University-West Lafayette (#22 tie)
• Ball State University (#28 tie)
• Indiana University-Bloomington (#28 tie)
• American College of Education (#242-321)
• University of Indianapolis (#242-321)

Select Indiana Schools with Teacher Preparation Degrees

Ball State University

The Teachers College at Ball State University awards bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, and doctoral degrees, and certificates with many initial certification program options in elementary education, secondary education, and special education. Undergraduate students can complete a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BS) in Elementary Education or many areas of secondary education, such as Art Education, Chemistry Education, and Social Science Education. Those in the BA or BS in Elementary Education program can also complete a dual major in combination with Special Education. Individuals with a strong interest in teaching young children may be interested in the BA or BS degrees in Early Childhood Education, which meet the educational requirements for licensure up to third grade. This degree can also be completed with an Early Childhood Special Education dual major. Online programs are also available, such as the Graduate Certificate in Literacy Instruction and the Master of Arts (MA) in Education. Graduate degrees and programs are open to certified teachers to help them advance their skills and opportunities for leadership in education.

Indiana University

Indiana University’s flagship campus is located in Bloomington and is home to the School of Education (SOE). The SOE offers prospective applicants many pathways into the education field including degrees that meet the educational requirements for teacher certification in Indiana. Traditional teacher education degrees are offered at the bachelor’s level, including the Bachelor of Science in Education (BSEd) in Elementary Education, the BSEd in Visual Arts Education, and the BSEd in Early Childhood Education. A BSEd in Secondary Education is also offered with eight tracks, including Language Arts/English and Mathematics. Aspiring teachers with undergraduate degrees in a non-teaching field can apply to the Hybrid Secondary Transition to Teaching (T2T) program. Additional graduate-level opportunities, such as the Master of Science in Education (MSEd) in Elementary Education and the Graduate License Addition in Special Education enable certified teachers to expand their knowledge or earn additional certification areas.

Purdue University

Purdue University’s College of Education is home to several teaching degrees and programs that can help aspiring teachers meet the state educational requirements. Completing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Elementary Education, Special Education, or Social Studies Education is the most traditional path to meet state educational requirements for teaching. However, the Boilermaker Track to Teaching (BTT) program provides individualized assistance to juniors and seniors in non-teaching programs to meet the licensure education requirements as quickly as possible as well. Applicants who have a bachelor’s degree can apply to the Transition to Teaching (TTT) program, which provides an alternative method of initial licensure in Indiana. Purdue also runs the Indy STEM Teacher Residency (ISTR) Program to recruit individuals with STEM backgrounds into secondary teaching positions. Online options are available at the graduate level, including certificates and degrees that can help licensed teachers develop new areas of competency.

Schools with Associate Degrees in Education

While a bachelor’s degree is the minimum educational level required to qualify for state certification, an associate’s degree can be the first step towards a career in education. It can qualify graduates for careers in non-licensed roles in early childhood education, after-school care, and related areas. The credits earned from an accredited associate degree program can also typically be transferred towards a bachelor’s degree. The following Alabama schools offer associate’s degrees in education.¹ Schools with an asterisk (*) also offer four-year teaching programs and/or alternative route to certification programs.

Indiana Wesleyan University*
1900 W 50th St
Marion, IN 46953
(765) 677-2870
www.indwes.edu

Ivy Tech Community College
50 W Fall Creek Pkwy N Dr
Indianapolis, IN 46208-5752
(317) 921-4800
www.ivytech.edu

Oakland City University*
138 N Lucretia St
Oakland City, IN 47660-1099
(800) 737-5125
www.oak.edu

Purdue University Global*
2550 Northwestern Ave Suite 1100
West Lafayette, IN 47906
(866) 522-7747
www.purdueglobal.edu

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College*
1 St Mary of Woods Coll
St Mary-Of-The-Woods, IN 47876-1099
(812) 535-5151
www.smwc.edu

Vincennes University*
1002 N 1st St
Vincennes, IN 47591
(812) 888-8888
www.vinu.edu

Student Reviews

Ball State University
2000 University Ave
Muncie, IN 47306
(765) 289-1241
https://www.bsu.edu/

Student Review: “Rating Ball State University (BSU) is difficult because it is so up and down. Overall, I feel prepared to enter the classroom, but a few of the classes were entirely pointless. Two of the science method courses are entirely irrelevant to the point of being frustrating, but the rest of the education program is very student-oriented and would be beneficial to anyone who is hoping to pursue a career in secondary education. The Honors curriculum certainly offers a different kind of challenge and I would recommend it to anyone who receives an offer. Overall it’s easy to find things to complain about, especially when it’s hard to see where your tuition dollars are going, but I believe I received a good education that has prepared me to enter into the world of secondary education with confidence.” -Andrew S., student at Ball State University

Student Review: “I came to Ball State knowing that it had nationally ranked programs in both education and theatre. On the theatre side of my degree, Theatre Education, I was incredibly satisfied. However, the side of my education which straddled the Teacher’s College was a very mixed experience. For the first three years within the program, the majority of the classes in the Teacher’s College were theoretical. Courses like Educational Psychology, Foundations of Education, and Multicultural Education all tackled the philosophical approach to teaching. While I believe that these are important courses, the gist of the information that consistently was reinforced in these classes are that students do best by doing. This approach didn’t appear within the Teacher’s College until my fourth year at Ball State, where I was able to begin applying some of what I’d learned in practicum classes and ultimately student teaching. The previous courses did little to prepare me, and truthfully just served to pad my grade. On several occasions, it felt like standards were lowered by faculty in order to pass as many teachers through as possible. I feel that a more rigorous, hands-on approach for the years preceding student teaching would craft better teachers.” -Brent D., student at Ball State University

Student Review: “My experience at BSU was overall very positive. There was a big emphasis on methodology and personalized teaching to accommodate children rather than a one-size-fits-all education. Many of my courses gave me a firm background in child psychology and teaching methods that helped me know what kind of career I’m going into. There’s also a semester-long in-class teaching component, which allowed me to actually put myself in a classroom and really teach. The one downside I’d say about the program is that the semester-long teaching takes up an entire semester so it’s not very flexible. It made me have to attend college for five years instead of four because of the inflexibility of the program itself. Aside from that, I found the teaching preparation program at BSU to be very effective.” -Evie H., student at Ball State University

Student Review: “As a student at Ball State University majoring in Theatre Education, I feel like my time was split between experiences in the Teacher’s College and experiences in the College of Fine Arts, and my experiences in the College of Fine Arts within the Department of Theatre and Dance were definitely more useful to my student teaching experiences. I feel that I learned a lot from my Methods courses as well as my theatre content courses that was the knowledge which was most useful for being equipped to instruct in the classroom. Within the Teacher’s College, many of my courses were focused on adolescent psychology or a historical approach to teaching. My professors within the Teacher’s College were encouraging but didn’t necessarily hold students to the highest standard when it came to coursework. In one case, a test accounting for 20% of our final grade was curved extensively to ensure that students wouldn’t fail out of the class and major. Within the theatre department, students were held to high standards, which helped to equip me to teach at peak performance and apply my knowledge in the classroom. Overall, the program is good, although I didn’t feel pushed by the Teacher’s College.” -Student at Ball State University

Indiana State University
210 N 7th St
Terre Haute, IN 47809
(812) 237-6311
https://www.indstate.edu/

Student Review: “Being a part of the Elementary Education program at Indiana State University was a blessing to me. It provided me with the skills I would need to be successful in any teaching job I could ever wish for. There was plenty of observational experience as well as practicum experience that kept us busy at all times, as well as in touch with the children over our time in the program. The different ‘endorsements’ or ‘minors’ we were allowed to get by taking only four or five extra classes was another blessing in itself. My reading endorsement was a joy, and I simply had to take a few extra English/Literature classes to reach this goal. It takes a special kind of person with a special kind of education and heart to teach. Indiana State University molded this kind of person out of all of their teaching students.” -Sara C., student at Indiana State University

Indiana University-Bloomington
107 S Indiana Ave
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
(812) 855-4848
https://bloomington.iu.edu/

Student Review: “Although I enjoyed my time in the Education school at IU, I thought there were many things that could have been better. First, I do not believe that I spent enough time in the classroom prior to student teaching. I only went on one visit on one day to a school my Sophomore year. My second semester of Junior year, I had my first weekly field experience, but we were expected to travel an hour and a half to Indianapolis each week. Finally, my first-semester senior year, I had another weekly field experience in Bloomington. I was lucky to get the teacher I was doing my student teaching with, so I was able to teach a few lessons. My classmates were not as lucky. I think I would have benefitted more from getting in a classroom a few times per week each semester. Also, I believe that as a Social Studies education major, I was required to take far too many in-depth history classes like HIST-J 301 and HIST-J 400. These classes are seminars created for history majors and require so much extra work.” -Student at Indiana University-Bloomington

Student Review: “At Indiana University, I participated in the alternative teacher education program called Community of Teachers (CoT). I absolutely loved this program, and feel it did an excellent job of teaching me to be a teacher in a way that differed from the more traditional lecture/field work model. CoT has three main components: the mentorship, the portfolio, and the seminar. While it is required that you take some traditional methods classes, the mentorship part of the program means that I as a student had a lot more time in a classroom gaining valuable experience. The portfolio aspect was also a very real way of showing what sort of progress I made while I was completing my undergraduate degree. The seminar aspect gives opportunity for discussion with peers, as well as a way to network with other professionals in the field. I would 100% recommend this program to anyone looking into becoming a teacher because I believe in the long term, the structure of this program is one that makes better teachers.” -Student at Indiana University-Bloomington

Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis
420 University Blvd
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5143
(317) 274-5555
https://www.iupui.edu/

Student Review: “The teacher preparation program at IUPUI is robust and outstanding. The program attracts students from all universities because its master’s program allows for the opportunity for hands-on learning throughout the community with internships and teacher shadowing courses. Many go on to teach at the public and private schools throughout the city and state. IUPUI’s teacher preparation program is unique because it is very diverse with students of all ages, races, religions, goals, and experiences. Not everyone is a traditional student, and many are coming back to school to further their lives into something they truly want to do – teach! Being centrally located in Indianapolis is key because it allows for a variety of job opportunities once the student graduates. Students at IUPUI usually have the leg up on returning students from more rural-based universities like Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.” -Student at Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis

Indiana Wesleyan University
4201 S Washington St
Marion, IN 46953
(866) 468-6498
https://www.indwes.edu/

Student Review: “The Education program at Indiana Wesleyan is excellent. My experience was completely online. Professors are intelligent, respectful and knowledgeable. The technology of the program could be updated, it can be difficult to use, it took me after two courses completed to be able to fully navigate the online course materials. This is a Christian faith based program, all staff are supportive and give insight on how God can support your every day life in your education path. There is a great focus on proper APA formatting, getting to know this process is key to your success in the program.” -Student at Indiana Wesleyan University

Marian University
3200 Cold Spring Rd
Indianapolis, IN 46222-1997
(317) 955-6000
https://www.marian.edu/

Student Review: “I participated in an educational leadership program at Marian University. This program requires me to meet with others on campus at least 4 times a month. Most programs similar to this one are online programs. While I would have liked to have the flexibility to do the program online, I thought it was very beneficial to go to campus. This allowed me to learn from others and make connections with other people in education. I liked the set up of the program that focused on developing us as leaders, and best instructional strategies. I did not like the long amount of hours I had to spend on campus, but as previously mentioned this allowed me to earn more. The program was a two year masters program.” -Student at Marian University

Purdue University
610 Purdue Mall
West Lafayette, IN 47907
(765) 494-4600
https://www.purdue.edu/

Student Review: “My teacher preparation at Purdue was exceptional, but perhaps not for the reasons one usually reads. I know that for many teachers, the challenge of keeping up with changing paradigms is problematic, but Purdue taught me to think, and provided me with an exceptional foundation in my curricular area. Once I began teaching, I watched many of my peers truly struggle within their own subject areas, especially when new textbooks become available. My solid foundation in math means that I could and still do have the time to work on pedagogy now because I’m not struggling with the “basics.” Purdue’s “work hard” approach also prepared me for real life jobs – the kind where you work until the work is done. Student grades must be entered, and sometimes you stay up late at night to get it done. The structure and rigor of the preparation mean that I have the kind of work ethic required to do what needs to be done for my students.” -Student at Purdue University

Purdue University Fort Wayne (f.k.a. Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne)
2101 E Coliseum Blvd
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499
(260) 481-4739
https://www.pfw.edu/

Student Review: “While IU and Purdue are great choices, sometimes you just need something closer to home. Being a commuter campus and continuing studies campus, IPFW attracts students of all ages and of all walks of life to its programs. Helmke Library is great for local research, I’ve spent many nights cramming for exams in the 24-hour computer lab. The recently-added Rhinehart music center has provided a venue for the Omnibus Lecture Series, highlighting speakers as diverse as Cheech Marin and Sandra Day O’Connor. Overall, this is a great place to learn, and you’ll be surrounded by like-minded people trying to get ahead.” -Brock A., student at Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne

Purdue University Northwest (f.k.a. Purdue University Calumet)
2200 169th St
Hammond, IN 46323
(219) 989-2400
https://www.pnw.edu/

Student Review: “Purdue University Calumet’s teaching program is outstanding. The professors are great and most are former teachers themselves. They offer real-world experience and advice for those starting out in the teaching world. The courses are challenging and require you to think outside the box for many of the assignments. Online courses are pretty standard with glitches in the system at times. Another drawback to this program is that the adviser can be hard to get in touch with and her schedule is always full. Other than that, it is a great program!” -Shelby E., student at Purdue University Calumet

University of Southern Indiana
8600 University Blvd
Evansville, IN 47712
(812) 464-8600
https://www.usi.edu/

Student Review: “The University of Southern Indiana overall is a decent school. The professors, for the most part, are nice and the class sizes are small for a good amount of learning. For a campus having over 10,000 students I do not find it to be too crowded at all besides the parking. This is the biggest issue with the school in my opinion. If you have an 11 AM class, you have to show up at around 8 AM just to find a decent parking spot. There is plenty to do around campus, including free Wifi at Starbucks in the massive library at the center of campus. If you are into working out and fitness the fitness center is up to date and about as good as it can get on a college campus.” -Lucas N., student at University of Southern Indiana

References:
1. National Center for Education Statistics College Navigator: https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
2. The Princeton Review. The Best 385 Colleges, 2022 Edition. The Princeton Review, 2021.
3. US News Best Graduate Education Schools 2021: https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/edu-rankings
4. US News Best Online Graduate Education Schools 2020: https://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/education/rankings
5. Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP): http://caepnet.org/provider-search
6. US Department of Education 2020 Title II Report: https://title2.ed.gov/Public/Home.aspx