by our College Data Analytics Team
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s” ranking as one item you can use to help make this 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.
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 bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 2,228 special education graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,343 and $26,790 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s” ranking, we looked at 124 colleges that offer a degree in special education. To top this list, a school must have a successful special education program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 “Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s” list to help you make the college decision.
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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region bachelor’s degree special ed students.
Out of the 124 schools in the Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the #1 spot on the list. BGSU is a fairly large public school situated in Bowling Green, Ohio. It awarded 214 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Special Education at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s special ed degrees to 160 students 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
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s list. UW - Eau Claire is located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 85 bachelors’s special ed degrees to qualified students.
Out of the 124 schools in the Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Youngstown State University landed the #4 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Youngstown, Ohio, and it awarded 77 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Akron Main Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s list. University of Akron Main Campus is a public institution located in Akron, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 75 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Full University of Akron Main Campus Special Education Report
Ball State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking. Ball State University is a public institution located in Muncie, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 59 bachelors’s 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%.
With a ranking of #7, Grand Valley State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s list. Allendale, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s special ed degrees to 56 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% 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 Grand Valley State University
Northern Illinois University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #8. Northern Illinois University is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 54 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Special Education at Northern Illinois University
University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #9. University of Wisconsin - Madison is located in Madison, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 51 bachelors’s special ed degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. 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%.
Full University of Wisconsin - Madison Special Education Report
University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh ranked #10 on this year’s Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, this fairly large public school handed out 48 degrees to qualified bachelors’s special ed students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Special Education at University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
Central Michigan University landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking. Central Michigan is a fairly large school located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan that handed out 45 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Ashland University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking. Ashland, Ohio is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s special ed degrees to 44 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Eastern Michigan University landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking. This fairly large school is located in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and it awarded 43 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Toledo did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #14. University of Toledo is a fairly large school located in Toledo, Ohio that handed out 40 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Michigan State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #14. This large school is located in East Lansing, Michigan, and it awarded 40 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. 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%.
Read full report on Special Education at Michigan State University
With a ranking of #16, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s list. Ohio State is a public institution located in Columbus, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 37 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%.
Read full report on Special Education at Ohio State University - Main Campus
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #17 on this year’s Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s list. IU Bloomington is located in Bloomington, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 35 bachelors’s special ed degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Special Education at Indiana University - Bloomington
Kent State University at Kent landed the #17 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking. Kent State University at Kent is a public institution located in Kent, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 35 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Lewis University ranked #19 on this year’s Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Romeoville, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 32 degrees to qualified bachelors’s special ed students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #20, University of Dayton did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s list. University of Dayton is a fairly large school located in Dayton, Ohio that handed out 31 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #21, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s list. University of Wisconsin - Whitewater is located in Whitewater, Wisconsin and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 30 bachelors’s special ed degrees to qualified students.
Read more about Special Education at University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #22. University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is a large public school situated in Cincinnati, Ohio. It awarded 29 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% 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%.
Wayne State University landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking. Wayne State is a large school located in Detroit, Michigan that handed out 29 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking. SMWC is a small school located in Saint Mary of the Woods, Indiana that handed out 29 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 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 Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Hope College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #25. Hope is a small school located in Holland, Michigan that handed out 28 bachelors’s special ed degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, 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 87%.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #25. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s special ed degrees to 28 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Special Education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point ranked #25 on this year’s Most Well Attended Special Ed Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, this medium-sized public school awarded 28 degrees to qualified bachelors’s special ed students in 2020-2021.
Full University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Special Education Report
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