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2021 Best Special Education Colleges for Non-Traditional Students

118 Colleges
9,331 Bachelor's Degrees
$27,519 Avg Cost*

Finding the Best Special Education Schools for Non-Traditional Students

Best Special Education Colleges for Non-Traditional StudentsIn <nil>, 9,331 people earned their bachelor's in special education, making the major the #55 most popular in the United States.

For this year's Best Special Education Colleges for Non-Traditional Students ranking, we looked at 118 colleges that offer a bachelor's in special ed. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality special education programs as well as strong support for students classified as non-traditional.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the special education program at the school, affordability, and presence of non-traditional students. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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As a non-traditional student, you have a lot to consider when it comes to choosing an education. That's why we've developed rankings specifically for you. Check out more major-related rankings here..

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.


 

2021 Best Special Education Schools for Non-Traditional Students in the United States

Check out the special ed programs at these schools if you want to see which ones are the best for non-traditional students.

Top 15% Best Special Education Schools for Non-Traditional Students

1
Kean crest
Kean University
Union, NJ

Kean University has taken the #1 spot in this year's special education ranking for non-traditional students. Located in the large suburb of Union, Kean is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 3.1%. There are approximately 1,503 students at Kean that take at least one class online. There are roughly 3,314 part time students in attendance at Kean.

Full Special Education at Kean University Report

2

The #2 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Illinois State University. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal. Illinois State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Colleges for Special Education list.

About 1.7% of Illinois State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 7,464 students take at least one class online at Illinois State. 2,500 of Illinois State students are attending part time.

Read full report on Special Education at Illinois State University

3
Towson crest
Towson University
Towson, MD

The #3 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Towson University. Towson is a large public school located in the small city of Towson. Towson not only placed well in our non-traditional rankings. It is also #9 on our Best Colleges for Special Education list.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.7%. Approximately 6,258 students take at least one class online at Towson. About 4,337 of the students at Towson are attending part time.

Read full report on Special Education at Towson University

4
WGU crest
Western Governors University
Salt Lake City, UT

Western Governors University comes in at #4 in this year's ranking. WGU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Salt Lake City.

The student loan default rate at WGU is lower than is typical, just 0.7% of students default in three years. All 150,116 students take classes exclusively online at WGU.

Read More…

5

West Chester University of Pennsylvania earned the #5 spot in our 2021 rankings. WCUPA is a large public school located in the suburb of West Chester. WCUPA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Colleges for Special Education list.

About 1.2% of WCUPA students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 4,464 students at WCUPA that take at least one class online. 3,854 students are part time.

Read full report on Special Education at West Chester University of Pennsylvania

6

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #6 spot in our 2021 best special education schools for non-traditional students. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population. UIUC also took the #3 spot in our Best Colleges for Special Education rankings.

About 0.6% of UIUC students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 35,475 students at UIUC that take at least one class online. 10,007 students are part time.

Full Special Education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

7

University of Northern Colorado comes in at #7 in this year's ranking. Located in the city of Greeley, University of Northern Colorado is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.9%. There are approximately 3,583 students at University of Northern Colorado that take at least one class online. 3,468 of University of Northern Colorado students are attending part time.

Read full report on Special Education at University of Northern Colorado

8

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania comes in at #8 in this year's ranking. Located in the town of Slippery Rock, SRU is a public school with a medium-sized student population. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, SRU also did well on our Best Colleges for Special Education list. It's in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.

The student loan default rate at SRU is lower than is typical, just 1.5% of students default in three years. There are approximately 3,848 students at SRU that take at least one class online. There are roughly 1,343 part time students in attendance at SRU.

Read More…

9
Ashland crest
Ashland University
Ashland, OH

The #9 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Ashland University. Located in the town of Ashland, Ashland is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.2%. 1,358 of Ashland students are exclusively distance learners. There are roughly 1,993 part time students in attendance at Ashland.

Read More…

10

Millersville University of Pennsylvania landed the #10 spot in our 2021 best special education schools for non-traditional students. Located in the suburb of Millersville, Millersville is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

About 1.4% of Millersville students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 2,500 students take at least one class online at Millersville. 2,073 of Millersville students are attending part time.

Full Special Education at Millersville University of Pennsylvania Report

11

Indiana University - Bloomington earned the #11 spot in our 2021 rankings. IU Bloomington is a very large public school located in the city of Bloomington. IU Bloomington did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our Best Colleges for Special Education list.

About 1.4% of IU Bloomington students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 18,013 students take at least one class online at IU Bloomington. About 5,256 of the students at IU Bloomington are attending part time.

Read More…

12

The #12 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Florida Atlantic University. Located in the small city of Boca Raton, FAU is a public college with a very large student population.

The student loan default rate at FAU is lower than is typical, just 1.4% of students default in three years. There are approximately 14,436 students at FAU that take at least one class online. 11,860 of FAU students are attending part time.

Full Special Education at Florida Atlantic University Report

13

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania comes in at #13 in this year's ranking. Bloomsburg is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Bloomsburg.

The student loan default rate at Bloomsburg is lower than is typical, just 2.5% of students default in three years. There are approximately 3,407 students at Bloomsburg that take at least one class online. 1,056 students are part time.

Read More…

14
SMWC crest
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Saint Mary of the Woods, IN

Our rankings recognize Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College as the #14 school in this year's rankings. Located in the rural area of Saint Mary of the Woods, SMWC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The student loan default rate at SMWC is lower than is typical, just 0.6% of students default in three years. 311 of SMWC students are exclusively distance learners. 352 students are part time.

Read More…

15
Gonzaga crest
Gonzaga University
Spokane, WA

Gonzaga University comes in at #15 in this year's ranking. Gonzaga is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Spokane. Gonzaga not only placed well in our non-traditional rankings. It is also #8 on our Best Colleges for Special Education list.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.2%. 923 students at Gonzaga are exclusively online. There are roughly 661 part time students in attendance at Gonzaga.

Read More…

16

The #16 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Ball State University. Located in the small city of Muncie, Ball State is a public college with a fairly large student population. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Ball State is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Special Education list.

About 1.9% of Ball State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 7,100 students take at least one class online at Ball State. About 6,060 of the students at Ball State are attending part time.

Read full report on Special Education at Ball State University

17

Utah State University landed the #17 spot in our 2021 best special education schools for non-traditional students. Located in the city of Logan, USU is a public college with a very large student population.

The student loan default rate at USU is lower than is typical, just 0.8% of students default in three years. There are approximately 13,751 students at USU that take at least one class online. About 9,734 of the students at USU are attending part time.

Read More…


 

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Special Education Colleges for Non-Traditional Students award.

Rank College Location
18 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI
19 SUNY Cortland Cortland, NY
20 Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN
21 Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA
22 St. Joseph’s College - New York Brooklyn, NY
23 University of Georgia Athens, GA

Special Education by Region

View the best for non-traditional students Special Education colleges in a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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

Notes and References

Footnotes

*Avg Cost is for the top 25 schools only.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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