Special Education Major

Special education is a major that typically falls into the Education category.

There are 75 programs available throughout the country that offer an associate’s degree in special ed, 687 that offer a bachelor’s degree, and 947 that offer a master’s degree. There are also at least 84 schools in the nation where you can get your doctorate degree in the field.

Who Is Getting a Special Ed Degree?

In 2017, roughly 10,000 special education majors graduated with a bachelor’s degree. This makes it #49 in popularity of all the majors we track. This major is dominated by women with about 90.3% of recent graduates being female.

Racial Distribution

At the countrywide level, the racial distribution of special ed majors is as follows:

• Asian: 1.1%
  
• Black or African American: 4.4%
  
• Hispanic or Latino: 10.1%
  
• White: 78.2%
  
• Non-Resident Alien: 0.5%
  
• Other Races: 5.7%
  
  

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in special ed. About 0.5% of those graduating in 2017 were international students. The most popular countries sending special ed majors to the U.S. are Saudi Arabia, China and South Korea.

What Will You Learn as a Special Education Major?

An O*NET survey asked people with careers related to special ed to rate how important certain subject areas were to their job. The following are some of the results of that survey. Importance was rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Special Ed Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

Skills for Special Ed Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to special ed:

Abilities for Special Ed Majors

Special ed majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

What Can You Do With a Special Ed Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with special ed:

Careers Related to Special Education

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School	7.4%	$59,390
Interpreters and Translators	17.7%	$49,930
Adapted Physical Education Specialists	9.9%	$56,680
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School	7.4%	$60,600
Special Education Teachers, Middle School	7.2%	$60,250
Special Education Teachers, Preschool	11.3%	$55,840

Special Education Major Salary

Special ed majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $62,000 to $64,000. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, the typical high school graduate makes between $29,000 and $57,000 a year. The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $44,000 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,000 and $120,000.

Your salary will be largely dependent on the career path you follow and what area of the country (or world) you work. Getting a graduate degree may open up more options with higher salary potential.

Amount of Education Required for Special Education Major Jobs

Some careers associated with special ed require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for special ed careers below.

Education Levels for Careers Associated With Special Education

Level of Education	Percentage of Workers
Less Than a High School Diploma	0%
High School Diploma or Equivalent	0.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate	0.1%
Some College Courses	0.4%
Associate's Degree or Equivalent	1.8%
Bachelor's Degree	52.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate	13.8%
Master's Degree	27%
Post-Master's Certificate	2.2%
First Professional Degree	1.5%
Doctoral Degree	1%
Post-Doctoral Training	0%

Online Special Education Programs

There are 687 colleges that offer a bachelor’s degree in special education, with 53 of them offering at least some courses online.

Online learners must listen or watch video lectures, participate in group chats or forums, submit papers and assignments electronically, take tests, and meet deadlines.

Getting your degree online is not easy and includes watching and listening to hours of lectures, participating in group charts, submitting papers by the appropriate deadline and taking tests. Some online programs will also feature internships or in-person clinical hours.

Is a Special Education Major Worth It?

The median salary for a special ed grad is $63,000 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 61% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $472,000 after 20 years!

Related Majors

• General Education
  
• Multilingual Education
  
• Curriculum & Instruction
  
• Educational Administration
  
• Instructional Media Design
  
• Educational Assessment
  
• International Education
  
• Education Philosophy
  
• Special Education
  
• Student Counseling
  
• Teacher Education Grade Specific
  
• Teacher Education Subject Specific
  
• Teaching English or French
  
• Teaching Assistant/Aide
  
• Other Education
  
  

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics
National Center for Education Statistics
O*NET Online
Image Credit: Woodleywonderworks via License