2024 Best Special Education Doctor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

Special Education is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #83 most popular doctor's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Special Education Doctor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 17 doctor's degrees in special education during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their doctor's degree from the school. After all, your doctor'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 doctor'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 much debt special education students go into to obtain their doctor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• 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 schools for special education students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Doctor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list to help you make the college decision.

 

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Special Education in Pennsylvania

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for special education students seeking a a doctor's degree.

Top Pennsylvania Schools for a Doctorate in Special Ed

1

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock, PA

9 Annual Graduates

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania is a good decision for individuals interested in a doctor's degree in special education. Located in the distant town of Slippery Rock, SRU is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in special education from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

2

Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA

It's difficult to beat Lehigh University if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in special education. Lehigh is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Bethlehem.More information about a doctorate in special education from Lehigh University

Best Special Education Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Special Education Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
New York	174	20
Maryland	119	3
New Jersey	115	0
District of Columbia	81	8

View All Rankings >

Special Education Related Rankings by Major

Special Education is one of 14 different types of Education programs to choose from.

Special Ed Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
General Special Education	17

Most Popular Majors Related to Special Ed

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Educational Administration	530
Curriculum & Instruction	59
General Education	44
Other Education	24
Teacher Education Subject Specific	22
Instructional Media Design	16
Student Counseling	16
Teacher Education Grade Specific	15
Education Philosophy	7
International Education	4

Notes and References

• 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to woodleywonderworks. More about our data sources and methodologies.