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2023 Most Focused Colleges for Special Education

917 Ranked Colleges
36,792 Degrees Awarded
$29,000 Avg Cost*
Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Special Education is the 29th most popular major in the country with 36,792 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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.

This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major” ranking analyzed 917 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.

For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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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 “Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major”.

Top 25 Most Focused Colleges for Special Education

1
Georgetown College crest
Georgetown College
Georgetown, Kentucky

Out of the 917 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Georgetown College landed the #1 spot on the list. Georgetown College is located in Georgetown, Kentucky and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 86 ’s special ed degrees to qualified students.

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%.

Read full report on Special Education at Georgetown College

2

Out of the 917 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major that were part of this year’s ranking, American University of Puerto Rico landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Bayamon, , and it awarded 20 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Special Education at American University of Puerto Rico

3
Daemen College crest
Daemen College
Amherst, New York

Out of the 917 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Daemen College landed the #3 spot on the list. Daemen College is a small school located in Amherst, New York that handed out 195 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Special Education at Daemen College

4
Ball State crest
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ball State University. The school came in at #4 for the Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major. Ball State is a large school located in Muncie, Indiana that handed out 1,870 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.2% 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 more about Special Education at Ball State

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St. Joseph’s College - New York. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. Located in Brooklyn, New York, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 261 diplomas to qualified ’s special ed students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad 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%.

Read more about Special Education at SJC

6
Bryn Athyn College crest
Bryn Athyn College of the New Church
Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania

Bryn Athyn College of the New Church did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major ranking, coming in at #6. Bryn Athyn College is a small school located in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania that handed out 12 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Special Education at Bryn Athyn College

7
Morningside crest
Morningside College
Sioux City, Iowa

Morningside College ranked #7 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. Located in Sioux City, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 102 diplomas to qualified ’s special ed students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Morningside Special Education Report

8
Touro crest
Touro College
New York, New York

Touro College landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major ranking. Touro is located in New York, New York and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 645 ’s special ed degrees to qualified students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Special Education at Touro

9
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American International College
Springfield, Massachusetts

American International College ranked #9 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. American International College is a small school located in Springfield, Massachusetts that handed out 158 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Special Education at AIC

10
Endicott crest
Endicott College
Beverly, Massachusetts

Endicott College ranked #10 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. Beverly, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s special ed degrees to 226 students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% 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%.

Read full report on Special Education at Endicott College

11
NDC crest
Notre Dame College
Cleveland, Ohio

With a ranking of #11, Notre Dame College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. NDC is a small school located in Cleveland, Ohio that handed out 38 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

Full NDC Special Education Report

12

With a ranking of #12, Bank Street College of Education did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. Located in New York, New York, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 55 diplomas to qualified ’s special ed students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Special Education at Bank Street College of Education

13
Neumann crest
Neumann University
Aston, Pennsylvania

Neumann University ranked #13 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. Neumann University is a small school located in Aston, Pennsylvania that handed out 55 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Special Education at Neumann University

14
Roberts Wesleyan crest
Roberts Wesleyan College
Rochester, New York

Roberts Wesleyan College landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major ranking. This small school is located in Rochester, New York, and it awarded 69 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Roberts Wesleyan College Special Education Report

15
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Manhattanville College
Purchase, New York

Manhattanville College ranked #15 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. Manhattanville is a private not-for-profit institution located in Purchase, New York. The school has a small population, and it awarded 82 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full Manhattanville Special Education Report

16
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Wilson College
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

Wilson College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major ranking, coming in at #16. Wilson is a small school located in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania that handed out 38 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Special Education at Wilson

17
Trinity Christian crest
Trinity Christian College
Palos Heights, Illinois

With a ranking of #17, Trinity Christian College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. Palos Heights, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s special ed degrees to 37 students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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 undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Trinity Christian Special Education Report

18

Caribbean University - Ponce did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major ranking, coming in at #18. Caribbean University - Ponce is a small school located in Ponce, that handed out 12 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Special Education at Caribbean University - Ponce

19

Arizona State University - Skysong came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major ranking. ASU - Skysong is a large school located in Scottsdale, Arizona that handed out 1,280 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Special Education at ASU - Skysong

20
Molloy crest
Molloy College
Rockville Centre, New York

Molloy College ranked #20 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. Molloy is located in Rockville Centre, New York and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 130 ’s special ed degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Special Education at Molloy

21
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Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania ranked #21 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. SRU is a public institution located in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 227 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.6% 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%.

Full SRU Special Education Report

22
Fontbonne University crest
Fontbonne University
Saint Louis, Missouri

Fontbonne University ranked #22 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. Fontbonne University is located in Saint Louis, Missouri and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 31 ’s special ed degrees to qualified students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Special Education at Fontbonne University

23
USJ crest
University of Saint Joseph
West Hartford, Connecticut

University of Saint Joseph landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major ranking. University of Saint Joseph is a small private not-for-profit school situated in West Hartford, Connecticut. It awarded 82 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Special Education at University of Saint Joseph

24
ENC crest
Eastern Nazarene College
Quincy, Massachusetts

Eastern Nazarene College landed the #24 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major ranking. ENC is located in Quincy, Massachusetts and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 19 ’s special ed degrees to qualified students.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Special Education at ENC

25
Muskingum crest
Muskingum University
New Concord, Ohio

With a ranking of #25, Muskingum University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major list. This small school is located in New Concord, Ohio, and it awarded 39 ’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Special Education at Muskingum

Rest of the Best 50 in Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major

Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

26
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Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Saint Mary of the Woods, Indiana
27
28
Cambridge College crest
Cambridge College
Boston, Massachusetts
29
Alliant crest
Alliant International University
San Diego, California
30
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St. Thomas Aquinas College
Sparkill, New York
31
32
Wells crest
Wells College
Aurora, New York
33
NDNU crest
Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, California
34
Cabrini University crest
Cabrini University
Radnor, Pennsylvania
35
Grand Canyon University crest
Grand Canyon University
Phoenix, Arizona
36
37
38
39
40
41
St. Joe's crest
Saint Joseph's University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
42
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The College of New Jersey
Ewing, New Jersey
43
Mount Saint Mary crest
Mount Saint Mary College
Newburgh, New York
44
Lesley crest
Lesley University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
45
Hastings crest
Hastings College
Hastings, Nebraska
46
University of West Alabama crest
University of West Alabama
Livingston, Alabama
47
William Carey University crest
William Carey University
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
48
Drury University crest
Drury University
Springfield, Missouri
49
National University crest
National University
La Jolla, California
50
Cardinal Stritch crest
Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Rest of the Top 15% Colleges in Schools Highly Focused on Special Ed Major

While not in the ‘top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

Rank College Location
51 SUNY Geneseo Geneseo, NY
52 University of Rio Grande Rio Grande, OH
53 Lamar University Beaumont, TX
54 St. Bonaventure University Saint Bonaventure, NY
55 National Louis University Chicago, IL
56 Thiel College Greenville, PA
57 Converse College Spartanburg, SC
58 Elms College Chicopee, MA
59 Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO
60 Northern State University Aberdeen, SD
61 Fitchburg State University Fitchburg, MA
62 Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY
63 Pace University - New York New York, NY
64 Hunter College New York, NY
65 Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millersville, PA
Rank College Location
66 Touro University California Vallejo, CA
67 Manhattan College Riverdale, NY
68 Bayamon Central University Bayamón, PR
69 Concordia University, Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
70 University of the Southwest Hobbs, NM
71 Holy Family University Philadelphia, PA
72 Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA
73 Wayne State College Wayne, NE
74 Sierra Nevada College Incline Village, NV
75 Caribbean University - Carolina Carolina, PR
76 Bluffton University Bluffton, OH
77 SUNY Cortland Cortland, NY
78 Marietta College Marietta, OH
79 Bowling Green State University - Main Campus Bowling Green, OH
80 Merrimack College North Andover, MA
81 Malone University Canton, OH
82 LIU Post Brookville, NY
83 William Peace University Raleigh, NC
84 University of St. Thomas Houston, TX
85 Florida Memorial University Miami Gardens, FL
86 Ashland University Ashland, OH
87 University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, IN
88 University of Maine at Farmington Farmington, ME
89 East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, PA
90 Niagara University Niagara University, NY
Rank College Location
91 New Jersey City University Jersey City, NJ
92 Juniata College Huntingdon, PA
93 Western Oregon University Monmouth, OR
94 Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT
95 Mississippi College Clinton, MS
96 Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Cheyney, PA
97 Mercyhurst University Erie, PA
98 SUNY Old Westbury Old Westbury, NY
99 Southwest Minnesota State University Marshall, MN
100 Evergreen Valley College San Jose, CA
101 Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA
102 Elmira College Elmira, NY
103 Marian University Fond Du Lac, WI
104 Kean University Union, NJ
105 Caribbean University - Bayamon Bayamon, PR
106 University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND
107 Peru State College Peru, NE
108 Dominican College of Blauvelt Orangeburg, NY
109 University of Nebraska at Kearney Kearney, NE
110 Carroll University Waukesha, WI
111 Shawnee State University Portsmouth, OH
112 University of Redlands Redlands, CA
113 Greenville University Greenville, IL
114 Nazareth College Rochester, NY
115 South Georgia State College Douglas, GA
Rank College Location
116 Minot State University Minot, ND
117 York College York, NE
118 Wesley College Dover, DE
119 Minnesota State University - Moorhead Moorhead, MN
120 MSU Texas Wichita Falls, TX
121 Towson University Towson, MD
122 Teachers College at Columbia University New York, NY
123 Keuka College Keuka Park, NY
124 American College of Education Indianapolis, IN
125 Alvernia University Reading, PA
126 Simmons University Boston, MA
127 Hope College Holland, MI
128 Carson - Newman University Jefferson City, TN
129 Grove City College Grove City, PA
130 Dominican University River Forest, IL
131 SUNY Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, NY
132 California University of Pennsylvania California, PA
133 American University of Puerto Rico Manati, PR
134 Bethel University Minnesota Saint Paul, MN
135 Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH
136 University of Houston - Victoria Victoria, TX
137 Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA
138 Gallaudet University Washington, DC

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