Key Takeaways
- Monroe College has the best professors in the United States, and Hebrew College has the worst.
- Waynesburg University has the best nursing professors, while Mohave Community College and Louisiana Christian University have the worst.
- Professors within Criminal Justice Departments have the highest average rating, while professors in Departments of Medicine have the lowest.
- Chemistry Departments have the hardest professors, while Physical Education Departments have the easiest.
Grading Professors
Let's face it-a good (or not-so-great) professor can make or break a university course. But how do you know which schools have the best professors in the subject you want to study? We've got you covered with the ranking results of over 79,000 professors at over 2,100 schools in the United States and the United Kingdom. No matter where or what you want to study, you'll discover valuable insights into which schools offer the best and worst professors for your major.
The GOAT and the WOAT: Professor Edition
Wondering if it's worth considering studying abroad? We compared overall professor rankings of U.S. and U.K. schools to reveal which have the highest and lowest-rated educators.
Overall, the U.S. outperformed the U.K., with American schools making a clean sweep of the top 10 list for schools with the most highly rated professors. New York City's Monroe College earned the No. 1 spot. That said, the U.S. also had five schools among the bottom 10 worst-ranked professors list, so there's plenty of room for improvement. Schools like Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts, might not be the best place in the U.S. to head for a nurturing college experience.
If you're considering studying abroad, it's worth comparing U.S. and U.K. universities. Here are some main differences to think about:
- The U.S. allows students to apply to more universities, but the U.K. tends to have an easier application process.
- It typically takes longer to earn a degree in the U.S. than in the U.K.
- The U.S. is a little more relaxed about letting students take their time before deciding on a major.
Best Colleges and Universities in the U.S.
If you already know you're America-bound and which state you'd like to study in, you still have several options of universities and colleges to attend. Check out our U.S. map of average professor ratings by state and our flipbook of schools in each state with the best and worst-rated professors.
On a scale of 0 to 5.0, Utah earned the highest average professor ratings in the country at 3.6. Among schools in Utah, Brigham Young University professors ranked highest with a 4.0. Professors in Georgia ranked second, while those in Nevada came in third. North Dakota scored the lowest, with a 3.0 average. Use our interactive chart below to see the schools with the best and worst professors in each state.
Interestingly, none of the top-ranked universities in America made the list of schools with the best or worst-rated professors. While choosing a college with great professors is important, it's only one of the many things you should consider when selecting the best university for you.
Best U.S. Professors by Subject
Next, we'll break down which American schools have the most highly-rated professors in various fields of study. After all, a school may have a nursing department full of amazing professors, but does that really matter if you plan to study English?
Our study revealed that the most popular professors in the U.S. reside not at Harvard or Stanford but in the Business Department at Alabama's Chattahoochee Valley Community College-they scored a 4.9 out of 5.0. For many students, earning an associate's degree at a two-year college like Chattahoochee Valley is a great way to enjoy benefits like smaller class sizes and more affordable tuition. It can also give you the skills needed to transfer to a four-year university to earn your bachelor's degree.
Conversely, we can't help but wonder what's going on in the nursing departments of Mohave Community College and Louisiana Christian University, each of which scored a paltry 0.2 professor rating. While choosing the right nursing program involves a long list of considerations, low professor rankings are certainly worth further investigation. Waynesburg University had the best nursing professors, earning a 4.4 out of 5.0.
If you're considering a program with questionable professor rankings, it's worth reaching out to the university's graduates to see if you can get more information. If you don't know any, contact the school's alumni department to see if they can help you find some contacts.
Best U.S. Professors by Conference
If you're a student-athlete looking to get a sports scholarship, it may be more helpful to look at the professor ratings of schools in different conferences rather than states.
Professors were rated fairly consistently across conferences, which means athletes can choose any conference they prefer. Student athletes may want to focus more on major-specific professor ratings and school athletic program rankings. A bit more specific investigation may help guide student athletes to schools that fit their unique needs and personalities.
Best Universities in the U.K.
If you're more interested in the U.K. than the U.S., we've got you covered. Let's look at the universities with the best and worst professor ratings in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Perhaps the most surprising insight our research revealed was how much lower the average professor ratings were in the U.K. than in the U.S. While American professors collectively pulled a national rating of 3.4, U.K. professors were rated an average of 2.1. These findings beg the question: Are professors in the U.K. really worse than their U.S. counterparts, or are British students harsher critics than American students?
While more information is needed to say for sure, the answer may lie in several issues currently facing the U.K. university system. The first dates back to 2015, when the U.K. government lifted the cap on the number of students universities could accept. While the idea was to give more students a chance to attend university, the outcome was that many U.K. universities became overcrowded, straining the ability of professors to offer students individual attention.
Best U.K. Professors by Subject
Much like in the U.S., finding a U.K. university with great professors becomes a lot easier when you know which field you want to study. Let's explore which British schools have the best and worst-rated professors in various departments.
Professor satisfaction ratings at a particular university can vary-sometimes a lot-depending on a student's area of focus. For instance, the University of Hull's Chemistry Department pulled in a 4.8 professor ranking, one of the highest on our list. However, the same university's English professors received a 1.3 rating.
Another surprising finding was the poor ratings among some of the U.K.'s most prestigious schools. English professors at Cambridge scored just 0.6, while Oxford's biology professors earned a mere 0.8. Conversely, professors at smaller schools, such as the University of Roehampton in southwest London, earned impressive ratings of 4.7 in business and 4.8 in philosophy.
No Easy A's
Another question that arose during our search was: Are the hardest professors always the most unpopular? We compared departments with the best and worst-rated professors to departments with the hardest and easiest professors. Let's see how they line up.
In terms of ratings, criminal justice professors scored the highest average rating, while medical professors scored the lowest. But while criminal justice professionals are apparently super cool, their departments didn't appear on the easiest or hardest lists. Meanwhile, chemistry seemed to attract the toughest professors (pun intended), while physical education had the easiest. However, PE professors were also some of the lowest-ranked, providing that easy courses don't always equal great professors.
Find Your School
Whether you want to study in the U.K. or the U.S., our searchable table below can help. It includes a breakdown of 2,104 schools, along with their locations and average professor ratings.
Keep in mind that an overall average score doesn't always tell the entire story. Be sure to research the specific department you're interested in and consider other factors that are important to you.
Choosing the Right Professors
Choosing which college or university to attend is a major life decision, but there is an incredible amount of information available to help you make the right choice. Remember to consider multiple factors in your search: from school rankings and professor ratings to athletic offerings and physical location. Also remember that the best school for you may not be on a flashy list or excel in every discipline-you only need it to excel in your field and check the boxes on your list. With a little research and an open mind, we're confident you'll find the right school for you.
Methodology
We gathered and analyzed data from Rate My Professors from 2,104 schools in the United States and the United Kingdom, encompassing 79,480 professors.
About College Rover
There's a lot to consider when selecting the perfect college or university. That's why we created College Rover as an easily-accessible tool that brings all the best information about colleges together in one place.
Fair Use Statement
If you'd like to share the college information you found here for non-commercial purposes, go for it! We just ask that you provide a link back to this page so readers can access all of our professor rating stats.
