Special Education is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #8 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 252 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Special Education Master's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 19,631 master's degrees in special education to qualified students.
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Choosing a Great Special Education School for Your Master's Degree
The special ed master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality special ed program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Major Focus - How much a school focuses on special education students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - How many other special education students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
Student Debt - How easy is it for special education to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized special education related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for special education students working on their master's degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Special Education Master's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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ADBLOCK #171
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Special Education in the United States
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in special education. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Hunter College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in special education. Hunter is a very large public college located in the city of New York.
Special Education master's degree recipients from Hunter College get an earnings boost of around $19,518 above the typical income of special education graduates.
Ball State University is a wonderful option for students interested in a master's degree in special education. Located in the small city of Muncie, Ball State is a public university with a fairly large student population.
After graduation, special ed master's recipients typically earn an average of $58,958 at the beginning of their careers.
Brooklyn College is a good option for students interested in a master's degree in special education. Located in the large city of Brooklyn, Brooklyn College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the special education program at Brooklyn College get $20,014 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in special education has to look into Syracuse University. Located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Those special education students who get their master's degree from Syracuse University earn $2,383 more than the standard special ed student.
TCNJ is a medium-sized public college located in the suburb of Ewing.
Special Education master's degree recipients from The College of New Jersey earn a boost of approximately $7,095 over the average earnings of special education majors.
CCNY is a large public college located in the large city of New York.
Master's recipients from the special education major at The City College of New York get $19,172 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the special education program at California State University - Los Angeles make $26,319 above the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
QC is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Queens.
Master's recipients from the special education major at Queens College make $16,832 above the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Adelphi is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Garden City.
Master's recipients from the special education major at Adelphi University make $9,909 more than the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Queens, STJ is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the special education major at St John's University - New York earn $17,777 above the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Towson is a fairly large public university located in the city of Towson.
Master's recipients from the special education major at Towson University earn $7,158 more than the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Diego.
Special Education master's degree recipients from National University receive an earnings boost of around $13,008 over the average income of special education graduates.
Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Those special education students who get their master's degree from University of Maryland - College Park make $9,726 more than the typical special ed student.
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Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Special Education Master's Degree Schools award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).
The special ed master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality special ed program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
