2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Special Education in Maryland

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Special Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Special Education is the 39th most popular major in the country with 33,249 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, special education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $43,879 and had an average of $28,500 in loans still to pay off.

Across Maryland, there were 353 special education graduates with average earnings and debt of $50,660 and $25,116 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 142 special education graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,371 and $23,982 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Special Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in special education. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent special education programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the special education program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Special Education Schools

The special ed school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Special Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Special Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Special Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Special Education in Maryland

#1

Towson University

Towson, Maryland

#1 in overall quality

$18,233 Average Net Price

$47,103 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Special Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland that were part of this year’s ranking, Towson University landed the #1 spot on the list. Towson is a large school located in Towson, Maryland that handed out 117 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Towson, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” ranking. It costs about $18,233 for Maryland Bachelor’s Degree Special Ed students per year to attend Towson University.

The low student loan default rate of 3.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Special Education at Towson University

#2

University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, Maryland

#2 in overall quality

$19,045 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland - College Park. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Special Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland list. UMCP is a large school located in College Park, Maryland that handed out 9 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMCP, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UMCP is $19,045 for Maryland Bachelor’s Degree Special Ed students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UMCP Special Education Report

#3

Hood College

Frederick, Maryland

#3 in overall quality

$23,767 Average Net Price

$41,789 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Hood College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Special Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland. Hood is a private not-for-profit institution located in Frederick, Maryland. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Hood, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Hood College is $23,767 for Maryland Bachelor’s Degree Special Ed students.

Read more about Special Education at Hood

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Special Education in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Special Education

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to woodleywonderworks.

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