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2024 Best Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region

48 Colleges in the Southwest Region
5,829 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$45,069 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in special education, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #29 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 48 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of special education. Combined, these schools handed out 5,829 degrees in special education to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Special Education School

Best Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region The special ed program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Special Education rankings. We derive our Best Overall Special Education School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Special Education Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Special Ed
Master's Degrees in Special Ed
Doctor's Degrees in Special Ed

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Special Education in the Southwest Region

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the special ed degree levels they offer.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools in Special Ed

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
181 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$43,324 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in special education has to check out Northern Arizona University. NAU is a very large public university located in the small city of Flagstaff. A Best Colleges rank of #278 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means NAU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 181 special education students who graduated with this degree at NAU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the special ed program state that they receive average early career wages of $43,324.

More information about a degree in special education from Northern Arizona University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
144 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
5.6% Growth in Graduates

Arizona State University - Tempe is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in special education. Located in the midsize city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #119 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.

There were roughly 144 special education students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the special ed program report average early career earnings of $43,177.

More information about a degree in special education from Arizona State University - Tempe

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
129 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$52,752 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in special education needs to take a look at Texas Tech University. Located in the city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #168 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Texas Tech is a great university overall.

There were about 129 special education students who graduated with this degree at Texas Tech in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the special education program at Texas Tech University get $7,683 above the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in special education from Texas Tech University

4
Lamar University crest
Lamar University
Beaumont, TX
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
542 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
35.1% Growth in Graduates

Lamar University is a good decision for students interested in a degree in special education. Located in the medium-sized city of Beaumont, Lamar University is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 26th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were roughly 542 special education students who graduated with this degree at Lamar University in the most recent data year. Special Education degree recipients from Lamar University receive an earnings boost of about $7,305 above the typical earnings of special education graduates.

More information about a degree in special education from Lamar University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$46,651 Median Starting Salary

UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Austin. A Best Colleges rank of #36 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.

There were approximately 47 special education students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, special ed degree recipients usually make an average of $46,651 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in special education from The University of Texas at Austin

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
19th Most Popular In TX
72.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Waco, Baylor is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #123 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Baylor is a great university overall.

There were roughly 11 special education students who graduated with this degree at Baylor in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in special education from Baylor University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
18th Most Popular In TX
15.4% Growth in Graduates

TCU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Fort Worth. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means TCU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 13 special education students who graduated with this degree at TCU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in special education from Texas Christian University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,280 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
65.0% Growth in Graduates

ASU - Skysong is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Scottsdale. This university ranks 8th out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were about 1280 special education students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Skysong in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the special ed program make around $45,202 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in special education from Arizona State University - Skysong

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In OK
35 Special Ed Degrees Awarded

University of Oklahoma is a very large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Norman. A Best Colleges rank of #140 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means University of Oklahoma is a great university overall.

There were about 35 special education students who graduated with this degree at University of Oklahoma in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in special education from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2,095 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
26.6% Growth in Graduates

Grand Canyon University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the city of Phoenix. A Best Colleges rank of #272 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Grand Canyon University is a great university overall.

There were roughly 2095 special education students who graduated with this degree at Grand Canyon University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the special ed program state that they receive average early career income of $40,360.

More information about a degree in special education from Grand Canyon University


 

Best Special Education Colleges by State

Explore the best special education schools for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 317 1,292
Arizona 287 3,881
Oklahoma 257 95
New Mexico 219 127

View All Rankings >

One of 14 majors within the Education area of study, Special Education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Special Ed Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Special Education 5,262
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism 283
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Early Childhood Special Education Programs 91
Other Special Education & Teaching 86
Education of the Deaf 30
Education/Teaching of Individuals Who are Developmentally Delayed 23
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Speech or Language Impairments 16
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities 13
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities 10
Elementary Special Education 8

View All Special Ed Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Special Ed

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 13,720
Educational Administration 7,661
Teacher Education Subject Specific 3,388
General Education 2,988
Curriculum & Instruction 2,683
Student Counseling 1,440
Instructional Media Design 866
Teaching English or French 479
Other Education 361
Multilingual Education 235

View All Special Ed Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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