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2024 Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

88 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
2,228 Bachelor's Degrees
$38,670 Avg Early-Career Salary
Special Education is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #55 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 88 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,228 bachelor's degrees in special education during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Special Education School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of special education for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for special education students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Special Education Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Special Ed Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region 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. 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.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Special Education in the Great Lakes Region

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for special education students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

13 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Special Ed

1
160 Annual Graduates
$43,480 Median Starting Salary
$20,436 Median Student Debt

Illinois State University is a good decision for students interested in a bachelor's degree in special education. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the special education major at Illinois State University make $4,810 more than the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Illinois State University

2
51 Annual Graduates
$41,945 Median Starting Salary
$22,863 Median Student Debt

University of Wisconsin - Madison is a good option for students interested in a bachelor's degree in special education. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the special education degree program at University of Wisconsin - Madison get $3,275 above the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from University of Wisconsin - Madison

3
28 Annual Graduates
$44,023 Median Starting Salary
$18,925 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in special education. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population.

Special Education bachelor's degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn a boost of about $5,353 above the average income of special education majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4
31 Annual Graduates
$41,471 Median Starting Salary
$20,612 Median Student Debt

University of Dayton is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in special education. UDayton is a large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Dayton.

Those special education students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Dayton make $2,801 more than the typical special ed grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from University of Dayton

5
35 Annual Graduates
$41,896 Median Starting Salary
$19,500 Median Student Debt

IU Bloomington is a very large public university located in the small city of Bloomington.

Those special education students who get their bachelor's degree from Indiana University - Bloomington receive $3,226 more than the typical special ed grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Indiana University - Bloomington

6
59 Annual Graduates
$40,987 Median Starting Salary
$23,250 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Muncie, Ball State is a public university with a large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the special education program at Ball State University get $2,317 above the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Ball State University

7
Hope crest
Hope College
Holland, MI

Located in the city of Holland, Hope is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

After graduation, special ed bachelor's recipients usually make around $39,887 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Hope College

8
21 Annual Graduates
$39,276 Median Starting Salary
$26,276 Median Student Debt

Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the city of West Lafayette.

After graduating, special ed bachelor's recipients generally earn around $39,276 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Purdue University - Main Campus

9
6 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Loyola University Chicago

10
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
40 Annual Graduates
$26,375 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Michigan State University

11
85 Annual Graduates
$40,643 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduation, special ed bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $40,643 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

12
214 Annual Graduates
$34,875 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

BGSU is a fairly large public university located in the town of Bowling Green.

Soon after graduation, special ed bachelor's recipients typically earn around $34,875 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Bowling Green State University - Main Campus

13
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI
45 Annual Graduates
$40,909 Median Starting Salary
$31,000 Median Student Debt

Central Michigan is a large public university located in the town of Mount Pleasant.

Those special education students who get their bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University receive $2,239 more than the typical special ed graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Central Michigan University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Special Education students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
14 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
15 Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH
16 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
17 Bradley University Peoria, IL
18 Lewis University Romeoville, IL
19 Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI
20 Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI
21 Trinity Christian College Palos Heights, IL
22 Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI

Best Special Education Colleges by State

Explore the best special education colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 318
Ohio 252 840
Illinois 241 522
Indiana 235 238
Wisconsin 213 310

View All Rankings >

One of 14 majors within the Education area of study, Special Education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Special Ed Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Special Education 1,452
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Early Childhood Special Education Programs 324
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities 114
Other Special Education & Teaching 83
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities 79
Elementary Special Education 44
Education/Teaching of Individuals Who are Developmentally Delayed 35
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Emotional Disturbances 31
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Speech or Language Impairments 28
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities 27

Majors Similar to Special Ed

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 8,423
Teacher Education Subject Specific 4,160
General Education 969
Educational Administration 358
Other Education 215
Teaching English or French 65
Education Philosophy 43
Curriculum & Instruction 16
Multilingual Education 11
Educational Assessment 9

Notes and References

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