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2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region

14 Ranked Colleges
19 Degrees Awarded
$30,000 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2020-2021, 36,792 people earned their degree in special education, making the major the 29th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, special education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $45,679 and had an average of $24,977 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 6,264 special education graduates with average earnings and debt of $42,394 and $26,337 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 19 special education graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,305 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 14 colleges that offered a degree in special education. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in special education.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region doctor’s degree special ed students.

Top 14 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Special Education in the Great Lakes Region

1
Illinois State crest
Illinois State University
Normal, Illinois

Out of the 14 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Illinois State University is a public institution located in Normal, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Special Education at Illinois State University

2
University of Toledo crest
University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio

Out of the 14 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Toledo landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Toledo is a fairly large school located in Toledo, Ohio that handed out 2 doctorate’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

Full University of Toledo Special Education Report

3
Ball State crest
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ball State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Muncie, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s special ed degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Special Education at Ball State University

4

Out of the 14 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Special Education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

5

Out of the 14 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #5 spot on the list. UIC is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 2 doctorate’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Special Education at University of Illinois at Chicago

6
WMU crest
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Western Michigan University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Western Michigan University is a public institution located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Special Education at Western Michigan University

7

With a ranking of #7, University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Wisconsin - Madison is located in Madison, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 doctorate’s special ed degrees to qualified students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Special Education at UW - Madison

8

Kent State University at Kent came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Kent State is located in Kent, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s special ed degrees to qualified students.

Full Kent State University at Kent Special Education Report

9
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

Michigan State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Michigan State University is located in East Lansing, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 90 doctorate’s special ed degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Full Michigan State University Special Education Report

9

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s special ed degrees to 26 students in 2020-2021.

Read more about Special Education at SIUC

9
IU Bloomington crest
Indiana University - Bloomington
Bloomington, Indiana

Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s special ed degrees to 38 students in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%.

Read full report on Special Education at IU Bloomington

9
Cardinal Stritch crest
Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

With a ranking of #9, Cardinal Stritch University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Milwaukee, Wisconsin is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s special ed degrees to 31 students in 2020-2021.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.9% 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%.

Full Cardinal Stritch University Special Education Report

9

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus ranked #9 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is a public institution located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 156 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.

Read more about Special Education at UC

9
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Northwestern University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Northwestern is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 0 doctorate’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Northwestern University Special Education Report

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