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

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2023 Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

95 Colleges
$38,520 Avg Salary
$25,108 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, special education was ranked #29 in the country. In fact 36,792 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 95 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Check out the special ed bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 15% Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

Hope College

Holland, MI

Our 2023 rankings named Hope College the best school in the Great Lakes Region for special education students working on their bachelor’s degree. Hope is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Holland.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a very large student population.

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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Illinois State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best special education schools in the Great Lakes Region . Illinois State is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

Special Ed majors at Illinois State take out an average of $19,363 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $201, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Special Education at Illinois State University Report

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best special education schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Special Education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire is a great place for special education students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, special ed graduates from UW - Eau Claire carry an average student debtload of $25,063.

Full Special Education at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Report

#6

University of Dayton

Dayton, OH

University of Dayton ranked #6 on this year’s Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Special Education at University of Dayton Report

#7

Wisconsin Lutheran College

Milwaukee, WI

With a ranking of #7, Wisconsin Lutheran College did quite well on this year’s best schools for special education students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Milwaukee, WLC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Special Education at Wisconsin Lutheran College

Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #8 on this year’s Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. IU Bloomington is a very large public school located in the small city of Bloomington.

Full Special Education at Indiana University - Bloomington Report

#9

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a very large student population.

Special Ed majors at Purdue take out an average of $20,007 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Special Education at Purdue University - Main Campus Report

#10

Carthage College

Kenosha, WI

Carthage College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree special education programs. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Kenosha, Carthage is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Special Education at Carthage College

#11

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

Lewis University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree special education programs. Lewis is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Romeoville.

Read full report on Special Education at Lewis University

#12

Calvin University

Grand Rapids, MI

With a ranking of #12, Calvin University did quite well on this year’s best schools for special education students working on their bachelor’s degree. Calvin is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Grand Rapids.

Full Special Education at Calvin University Report

#13

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights, IL

Trinity Christian College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for special education students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Palos Heights, Trinity Christian is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

On average, special ed graduates from Trinity Christian take out $35,227 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read More…

#14

Aurora University

Aurora, IL

Aurora University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for special education students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Aurora is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Aurora.

Full Special Education at Aurora University Report

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
15 University of Wisconsin - Stout Menomonie, WI
16 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI
17 Southern Illinois University Carbondale Carbondale, IL
18 Huntington University Huntington, IN
19 University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI

Best Special Education Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 607
Ohio 1,329
Illinois 1,153
Indiana 2,282
Wisconsin 598

Special Education is one of 14 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Special Ed

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
General Education 29,810
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to woodleywonderworks.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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