Special Education Degrees
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Salaries For Degrees in Special Education
Those who majored in Special Education can be employed in a variety of occupations. While no one can say with certainty what you personally will do with a degree in Special Education, our survey panel picked the following occupations as likely options:
- Special education teachers, secondary school
- Special education teachers, middle school (Best salary!)
- Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school
The median salary for people with a degree in Special Education is $47,885.53. The lifetime value of this degree is approximately $1,161,568.00.
Salaries are highly dependent on individual negotiating skill, experience, policies at your employer, region, and more. The estimates we show on these pages are just that: estimates. Your individual experience will likely vary.
Where does this come from?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the US government, classifies all workers into some 800-odd occupational categories. We paid a army of freelancers to solicit their view on what type of degree a holder of each type of job would likely have majored in. For pairs which had a high degree of consensus, we created a link between the degree and the job.
From this, we calculated the average salary for Special Education degrees and converted it into a lifetime value. We then compared it against other degrees at the same level of schooling (such as associate's, bachelor's, or master's), so that you can make informed educational and employment decisions.
What Can a Special Education Student Expect to Learn?
Special education degrees qualify a person to teach children with disabilities who are age three through 21. There are special education programs available at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree levels. At the end of most bachelor's and master's degree programs, the graduate is qualified to apply for his or her state's teaching certification or licensure.
Bachelor's Program
Bachelor of arts (BS) or bachelor of science (BS) are undergraduate programs that require about four years to complete. A student in a undergraduate program in special education will focus on general special education classes, as well as general liberal arts requirements.
Special education classes may include basic courses in child development, language acquisition and development, exceptionalities, and educational psychology. Students may also take classes in assessment, teaching strategies for math, reading, and science, as well as an introduction to special education law, among others. Practicum and student teaching experiences also play a large part in undergraduate special education programs.
Masters Program
Master of arts (MA) or master of education (MEd) are the two main master's degrees in special education. Graduate students in these programs may take classes in statistics, applied behavior analysis, and advanced special education law.
College students will also take classes in developing special education programs for individual children, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process, managing paraprofessional staff, and specialized classes in mild-moderate, behavioral, severe, hearing impaired, vision impaired, or other specialization to prepare for state certification.
Master's degree students spend a considerable amount of time in practicum settings and student teaching, working in their area of specialization. Some master's programs in special education have thesis requirements, others do not.
Doctorate
The doctorate in philosophy (PhD) or a doctorate in education (EdD), in special education is the highest degree one can achieve. A doctorate program in special education trains the doctoral candidate for leadership positions within education, teaching in universities or working in research positions.
Classes focus on special education administration, law, finance, ethics, public policy, and similar topics. Doctoral students in special education programs spend much of their time developing and conducting their own research in their particular areas of specialization, and working on their doctoral dissertations. Doctoral students are usually required to teach a lower-level special education class.
Online Universities Offering Accredited Special Education Degrees
There are many colleges and universities offering online special education degrees at all three levels of study. A few of these schools are discussed below.
Grand Canyon University:
This university offers a bachelor's degree dual major in elementary and special education. This degree prepares students for certification to teach children in kindergarten to 12th grade.
Western Governor's University:
Western Governor's offers a bachelor's degree program in special education. Upon completion, the graduate will be prepared to teach and work with students in kindergarten through 12th grade who have disabilities.
Vanderbilt University:
Vanderbilt was rated the top special education graduate school in 2010, by US News and World Report. Vanderbilt offers online bachelor's, master's and doctoral special education programs.
Northcentral University:
This school's PhD program in exceptional student education focuses on preparing doctoral candidates who are interested in learning more special education theoretical knowledge and its application. The University of Phoenix: The University of Phoenix offers an online master's degree special education. It prepares students for work as special education teachers in the specialties of learning disabilities, hearing impaired, rehabilitation, visual impairment, and primary grades special education teachers.
Top Colleges & Universities Offering Campus-based Special Education Degrees
Many of the online degree programs also offer on-campus programs in special education, or a hybrid of the two. The colleges and universities listed below are some of the top campus-based special education programs.
Ball State University:
Ball State offers on-campus bachelor's degrees in mild interventions, severe interventions, hearing impaired, early childhood, as well as a dual major in elementary education and special education, mild interventions.
Delaware State University:
This university offers on-campus bachelor's degrees in special education in the following specialties: early childhood, elementary special education, and secondary special education. Delaware State also offers a master's degree program in special education.
University of Kansas:
The University of Kansas was US News and World Report's second best special education school in 2010. In 2009, it was honored with the first place award. This university has very well-regarded graduate-level special education programs.
University of Virginia:
The Curry School of Education is well-known for its master's and doctoral level special education programs, as well as and research in the field of education. It ranked sixth in the 2010 US News and World Report's best special education programs.
University of North Carolina:
This university is famous for its work with children who have autism and the TEACCH program that the school developed. Both master's and doctorate programs in special education are offered.
Famous Students of Special Education 
The following people have made significant contributions to the field of special education. Though there are many more people not mentioned, these three are representative of all of those dedicated individuals in government, philanthropy, and teaching special education.
Alexa Posney (pictured right, photo by Anthony S. Bush/Topeka Capital Journal) was confirmed in 2009 as the the assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services at the United States Department of Education. She earned a master's degree in behavioral disabilities from the University of Wisconsin. In 2005, she earned a doctorate in educational administration, with a minor in special education from the University of Wisconsin.
Dr. Donald Hammill, the founder and president o PRO-ED, Inc., was the 2010 recipient of the J.E. Wallace Wallin Special Education Lifetime Achievement Award. He has worked with children with disabilities for 50 years, and began the Donald D. Hammill Foundation that provides grants to programs working with the disabled.
Cyndi M. Chappel, a special education teacher to children with significant disabilities, is the 2010 recipient of the Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year Award. Ms. Chappel also won the 2009 Georgia chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children Teacher of the Year award. She teaches in Winston, Georgia.
