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2024 Best Special Education Schools in North Carolina

17 Colleges in North Carolina
477 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$38,683 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in special education, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #29 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 17 schools in North Carolina to determine which ones were the best for special education students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 477 degrees in special education during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Special Education School

Best Special Education Schools in North Carolina The special ed program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Special Education rankings. We derive our Best Overall Special Education School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Special Education Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Special Ed
Master's Degrees in Special Ed
Doctor's Degrees in Special Ed

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Special Education Schools in North Carolina ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Special Education in North Carolina

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the special ed degree levels they offer.

10 Top North Carolina Schools in Special Ed

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
84 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
39.3% Growth in Graduates

University of North Carolina at Charlotte is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in special education. UNC Charlotte is a very large public university located in the large city of Charlotte. A Best Colleges rank of #378 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNC Charlotte is a great university overall.

There were approximately 84 special education students who graduated with this degree at UNC Charlotte in the most recent data year. Those special education students who get their degree from University of North Carolina at Charlotte make $2,277 more than the average special ed graduate.

More information about a degree in special education from University of North Carolina at Charlotte

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
117 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
12.8% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in special education has to check out Appalachian State University. Appalachian State is a fairly large public university located in the town of Boone. A Best Colleges rank of #445 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Appalachian State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 117 special education students who graduated with this degree at Appalachian State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the special ed program earn about $37,368 for their early career.

More information about a degree in special education from Appalachian State University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
67 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
9.0% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat East Carolina University if you wish to pursue a degree in special education. Located in the small city of Greenville, ECU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #414 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ECU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 67 special education students who graduated with this degree at ECU in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the special ed program make an average of $38,283 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in special education from East Carolina University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$36,610 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat University of North Carolina at Greensboro if you want to pursue a degree in special education. Located in the large city of Greensboro, UNC Greensboro is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #623 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNC Greensboro is a great university overall.

There were roughly 60 special education students who graduated with this degree at UNC Greensboro in the most recent data year. After graduation, special ed degree recipients generally make an average of $36,610 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in special education from University of North Carolina at Greensboro

5

UNCW is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Wilmington. A Best Colleges rank of #457 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNCW is a great university overall.

There were approximately 25 special education students who graduated with this degree at UNCW in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the special ed program report average early career wages of $37,394.

More information about a degree in special education from University of North Carolina at Wilmington

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
22nd Most Popular In NC

Located in the large city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #92 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means NC State is a great university overall.

There were about 3 special education students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in special education from North Carolina State University

7
High Point crest
High Point University
High Point, NC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In NC

High Point is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of High Point. A Best Colleges rank of #865 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means High Point is a great university overall.

There were roughly 18 special education students who graduated with this degree at High Point in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in special education from High Point University

8
Campbell crest
Campbell University
Buies Creek, NC
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In NC
14.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the fringe town of Buies Creek, Campbell is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were approximately 7 special education students who graduated with this degree at Campbell in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in special education from Campbell University

9
Catawba crest
Catawba College
Salisbury, NC

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Salisbury, Catawba is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 45th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.More information about a degree in special education from Catawba College

10

Located in the town of Cullowhee, WCU is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #859 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means WCU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 21 special education students who graduated with this degree at WCU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, special ed degree recipients generally make about $35,480 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in special education from Western Carolina University


 

Best Special Education Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Special Education Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 423
Florida 282 999
Virginia 274 994
Tennessee 269 344
South Carolina 248 255
Kentucky 244 573
Louisiana 242 68
Mississippi 234 269
Arkansas 234 274
Alabama 233 404
West Virginia 207 46

View All Rankings >

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

Special Ed Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Special Education 217
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism 51
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities 44
Other Special Education & Teaching 40
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities 35
Education of the Deaf 30
Education/Teaching of the Gifted & Talented 29
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Emotional Disturbances 17
Elementary Special Education 10
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Vision Impairments Including Blindness 4

View All Special Ed Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Special Ed

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 6,062
Educational Administration 1,458
Teacher Education Subject Specific 906
Student Counseling 557
General Education 255
Curriculum & Instruction 182
Instructional Media Design 175
Teaching English or French 84
Educational Assessment 49
International Education 36

View All Special Ed Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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