We offer a powerful and personal education within a Big Ten Research Institution.
Our graduates go on to become world-class leaders, scholars, and innovators in many different facets of education – from teaching, educational administration and counseling to student development, higher education, measurement and testing, and more.
As part of a Big Ten research institution, we are proud to offer a personal, affordable, and top-ranked education for undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and 78 different countries, including a growing number of distance learners.
The UI College of Education has a rich legacy. In 1847, Iowa legislators created the State University of Iowa, the state’s first public institution of higher education to provide teacher training for Iowa’s growing population. In 1872, the UI created the nation’s first permanent college-level department of education.
E.F. Lindquist, distinguished leader, scholar, inventor, and teacher, created the Iowa Academic Meet in 1929, which was the impetus for the development of the world-renowned Iowa Testing Programs.
Iowa Testing Programs later spun off America’s most widely accepted college entrance exam, American College Testing Program, Inc., now known as ACT. Iowa Testing Programs also spun off its test scoring operation and equipment to what is now known as Pearson Education, the largest test scoring and processing corporation in the world
Learn more about the college’s history with this timeline.
Today, the University of Iowa College of Education is the top-ranked college in the state of Iowa, and we are proud of our many nationally recognized, highly-ranked academic programs. Our college’s 27,822 living alumni are leading across the state, nation, and globe.
Our Leadership
Our college’s leadership team works to ensure that our college provides a strong foundation for the success of our more than 1,000 graduate and undergraduate students in four different academic departments.
Our UI College of Education Advisory Board also provides advice and guidance on major issues in the college, future directions, and fund-raising efforts.
Daniel L. Clay, Dean
Since joining the college on July 1, 2016, Clay has provided strong leadership in guiding the strategic planning process, fund-raising, new faculty and staff hires, and renovation plans. Clay brings a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship to the college and is a leader in the application of continuous quality improvement methods.
Saba Ali, Associate Dean for Research
Ali’s role is dedicated to supporting the success of all faculty in their research endeavors. She is an excellent role model due to her own highly-successful research track record. Ali is also identifying new ways to build upon the rising success in scholarship and grant funding.
Amanda Haertling Thein, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Graduate Programs
Thein is a well-respected researcher whose responsibilities include overseeing academic affairs and graduate programs and certificates as well as International Programs, the Office of Graduate Teaching Excellence, the new faculty program, I-Fellows, and Dean’s Fellows. Thein also oversees graduate program recruitment.
Nancy Langguth, Associate Dean for Teacher Education and Student Services
Langguth provides leadership and oversight for the Teacher Education Program (TEP) as well as for the services associated with TEP recruitment, admissions, field experiences, program completion exams and licensure. This includes overseeing the Linda R. Baker Teacher Leader Center and the Office of Student Services.
Academic Departments
The University of Iowa College of Education offers top-ranked academic degree programs in teaching and learning, higher education, education policy, counseling, rehabilitation, and measurement. Students in these programs have the opportunity to collaborate with world-renowned faculty and are prepared to become leaders, scholars, and innovators in their field.
Educational Policy and Leadership Studies
The Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies (EPLS) is made up of three distinct graduate degree programs. All are designed to prepare education leaders, teachers, professors, and researchers in the fields of Higher Education and Student Affairs, Educational Leadership, and Schools, Culture, and Society.
Psychological and Quantitative Foundations
The Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations involves the psychological and quantitative foundations of education. This includes five graduate programs: Counseling Psychology, Couple and Family Therapy, Educational Measurement and Statistics, Educational Psychology and Learning Sciences, and School Psychology. Each of these programs seeks to understand issues related to education from a psychological and/or quantitative perspective, rather than from a social or historical perspective.
Rehabilitation and Counselor Education
Faculty and programs in the Department of Rehabilitation and Counselor Education prepare caring, highly skilled counselors in four different programs: Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling (master’s), School Counseling (master’s), Counselor Education and Supervision (doctoral), and Rehabilitation Counselor Education (doctoral).
Teaching and Learning
In the Department of Teaching and Learning, faculty are preparing today's teachers for tomorrow's schools. With a variety of certification areas at both the undergraduate and graduate level, our college has the right program for you. Experienced faculty provide opportunities for students to learn from cutting-edge technologies. In addition, faculty conduct cutting edge research, securing millions of dollars in external funding. Whether applying to an elementary or high school as a beginning teacher or a research university as a faculty member, our graduates are in high demand.
Rankings
University of Iowa College of Education’s academic programs are consistently ranked among the best in the state and the nation.
U.S. News & World Report
- #1 College of Education in Iowa
- #3 Rehabilitation Counseling (2018)
- #10 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (2019)
- #12 Higher Education Administration (2019)
- #28 Best Public College of Education, #40 Best College of Education in U.S. (2019)
National Council on Teacher Quality
- The Secondary Education Teacher Education Program top 2% in the nation
- Top 6% — the National Council on Teacher Quality’s (NCTQ) rank for the college’s elementary education program
- Top 2% — NCTQ’s rank for the college’s secondary education programs
Fiske Best Buy
For the 14th straight year, the University of Iowa has been designated a “Best Buy” in the Fiske Guide to Colleges.
Counseling Psychology.org National Report
- A #8 ranking for the college’s Counseling Psychology doctoral program.
See more University of Iowa rankings.
Other Fast Facts
- 460 undergraduate students and 574 graduate students (fall 2017 enrollment)
- 27,822 alumni in 78 countries, all 50 states and all 99 Iowa counties
- 200 faculty and staff
- 10:1 student to faculty ratio
- 8.2 million awarded in grants
- 141 books and peer-reviewed publications (2017-18)
- 11,500+ hours volunteered in more than 300 sites throughout the community, nation, and world
- 112 scholarships given to students, amounting to $325,000 for academic excellence (2017-18)
Strategic Plan
The College of Education’s 2013-2018 Strategic Plan identifies four priorities in accordance with the University of Iowa’s strategic planning goals:
- Ensuring student success through careful attention to our collegiate environment; through continuous attention to good recruitment, selectivity, and diversity of students, faculty, and staff; and through ongoing improvement in career development and alumni engagement.
- Building knowledge and practice to address major societal challenges by engaging in collaborative translational research, with findings made accessible to the state and the profession.
- Facing new frontiers as we prepare educational leaders who must develop the practices and competencies needed to address complex educational and social issues across the globe.
- Creating better futures for Iowans as we address the needs of a changing population with innovative leadership, thereby improving economic well-being, cultural vitality, and quality of life throughout our state and far beyond.