Program ranking · CIP 13.10 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Special Education

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Special Education (CIP 13.10) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

Compiled by PlainCollege , College outcomes data analysis

$83,932
Highest special education earnings: 89
Colleges ranked: $32,294
#89 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $32,294 median earnings for Special Education bachelor's (CIP 13.10) completers. Manhattan University leads at $83,932.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$83,932
#1 - Manhattan University: $32,294
#89 - the cutoff to make this list: 25+
completers required per school: 548
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

Manhattan University

$83,932
Utah State University

$74,535
State University of New …

$74,079
Molloy University

$71,781
The College of New Jersey

$66,767
CUNY Medgar Evers College

$66,377
Saint Joseph's Universit…

$64,827
Western Washington Unive…

$64,780
Syracuse University

$62,864
SUNY Old Westbury

$62,389
University of Hawaii at …

$62,087
Kean University

$61,158
University of Nevada-Las…

$60,958
East Stroudsburg Univers…

$60,391
Southern Connecticut Sta…

$60,365

What this shows Special-education medians track K-12 district pay bands - debt still matters when graduate credentials are common for advancement.

The full top 89

#	School Name	State	Median Earnings	Median Debt	Completers
1	Manhattan University	NY	$83,932	$26,246	26
2	Utah State University	UT	$74,535	$11,250	80
3	State University of New York at Cortland	NY	$74,079	-	86
4	Molloy University	NY	$71,781	-	32
5	The College of New Jersey	NJ	$66,767	$23,625	76
6	CUNY Medgar Evers College	NY	$66,377	$5,500	39
7	Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia	PA	$64,827	$27,000	31
8	Western Washington University	WA	$64,780	$27,000	101
9	Syracuse University	NY	$62,864	$27,000	39
10	SUNY Old Westbury	NY	$62,389	$18,400	42
11	University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	$62,087	$16,049	28
12	Kean University	NJ	$61,158	$25,479	42
13	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$60,958	$9,500	29
14	East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania	PA	$60,391	$25,500	45
15	Southern Connecticut State University	CT	$60,365	$25,750	34
16	University of North Florida	FL	$59,429	-	29
17	Broward College	FL	$59,330	-	49
18	Miami Dade College	FL	$59,174	$10,778	55
19	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	$58,675	$16,220	25
20	Michigan State University	MI	$58,522	$26,375	32
21	Towson University	MD	$56,971	$17,089	162
22	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	$56,311	$17,084	146
23	Keuka College	NY	$55,992	$27,000	35
24	St. Joseph's University-New York	NY	$55,812	$22,500	200
25	Bridgewater State University	MA	$55,692	$27,000	27
26	University of Nebraska at Omaha	NE	$55,665	$21,500	28
27	Auburn University	AL	$55,544	$22,000	79
28	SUNY at Fredonia	NY	$55,441	$24,500	36
29	Providence College	RI	$54,927	$27,000	35
30	SUNY College at Geneseo	NY	$54,908	$22,500	73
31	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania	PA	$54,845	$27,000	78
32	Eastern Michigan University	MI	$54,303	$31,000	40
33	Northern Arizona University	AZ	$53,619	$20,057	115
34	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	PA	$53,494	$27,000	61
35	Millersville University of Pennsylvania	PA	$53,356	$27,000	70
36	Northern Illinois University	IL	$53,148	$21,029	40
37	Illinois State University	IL	$52,864	$19,500	147
38	Western Governors University	UT	$52,090	$17,937	785
39	Indiana University-Bloomington	IN	$52,008	$19,500	27
40	Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania	PA	$51,949	$26,000	55
41	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	WI	$51,908	$27,000	36
42	St Bonaventure University	NY	$51,664	$27,000	32
43	Minnesota State University-Mankato	MN	$51,630	$21,805	32
44	Lewis University	IL	$51,522	$22,500	37
45	University of Dayton	OH	$51,389	$19,985	29
46	Ball State University	IN	$51,267	$22,500	50
47	University of Georgia	GA	$51,259	$19,500	41
48	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	$51,258	$26,950	30
49	University of Northern Colorado	CO	$51,008	$25,000	30
50	Niagara University	NY	$50,897	$25,750	31
51	Grand Canyon University	AZ	$50,892	$40,811	527
52	The University of Alabama	AL	$50,763	$25,473	42
53	Appalachian State University	NC	$50,264	$24,096	30
54	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	$50,194	$24,625	33
55	Central Michigan University	MI	$50,095	$31,000	53
56	Saginaw Valley State University	MI	$50,078	$29,500	82
57	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania	PA	$50,069	$27,000	39
58	Winona State University	MN	$49,824	$27,000	27
59	Grand Valley State University	MI	$49,814	$28,288	43
60	Mercyhurst University	PA	$49,638	$24,923	29
61	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	$49,301	$21,783	44
62	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania	PA	$48,796	$27,000	100
63	University of Wisconsin-Stout	WI	$48,444	$27,000	28
64	East Carolina University	NC	$48,410	$26,018	30
65	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	NC	$48,151	$21,000	39
66	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	$48,124	$24,094	26
67	University of West Florida	FL	$47,968	$24,013	40
68	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	WI	$47,877	$27,000	77
69	University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh	WI	$47,828	$25,500	38
70	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	$47,592	$25,500	29
71	Eastern Illinois University	IL	$47,566	$22,062	26
72	Athens State University	AL	$47,550	$23,144	25
73	University of Memphis	TN	$47,465	$21,852	60
74	Liberty University	VA	$47,241	$27,000	100
75	Miami University-Oxford	OH	$47,226	$26,000	25
76	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point	WI	$46,315	$20,500	39
77	University of South Dakota	SD	$45,415	$25,000	26
78	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	OH	$45,224	$26,000	204
79	Kent State University at Kent	OH	$43,835	$24,000	47
80	Ashland University	OH	$43,052	$26,699	27
81	University of Akron Main Campus	OH	$41,782	$23,063	97
82	Mississippi State University	MS	$41,627	$21,500	30
83	Southeast Missouri State University	MO	$41,163	$23,876	33
84	Western Kentucky University	KY	$40,705	$26,000	27
85	Morehead State University	KY	$39,777	$25,375	45
86	Youngstown State University	OH	$39,497	$26,063	43
87	Brigham Young University	UT	$39,325	-	46
88	Murray State University	KY	$36,657	$18,687	33
89	University of Puerto Rico	PR	$32,294	$5,500	35

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Special Education (CIP 13.10) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Special Education (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. This list covers Special Education and Teaching (CIP 13.10) bachelor's programs - teacher-prep levels/methods (CIP 13.12) and subject-area teacher CIP 13.13 are ranked separately.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.