2023 Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California
Finding the Best Special Education Graduate Certificate School for You
With 2,861 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, special education is the #45 most popular major in California.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in California to see which graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in California
The following schools top our list of the Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Colleges.
Top 10 Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Saint Mary’s College of California the best school in California for special education students working on their graduate certificate. SMC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Moraga.
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The excellent graduate certificate programs at California State University - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best special education schools in California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public college with a very large student population.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means California State University - Long Beach is a great place for special education students working on their graduate certificate. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.
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Out of the 10 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, National University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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Mills College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for special education students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. Mills is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Oakland.
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With a ranking of #7, California State University - Northridge did quite well on this year’s best schools for special education students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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San Francisco State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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Mount Saint Mary’s University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Holy Names University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate special education programs. Located in the city of Oakland, HNU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Full Special Education at Holy Names University Report
Request InformationBest Special Education Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Special Education Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 238 |
| Oregon | 234 |
| Nevada | 215 |
| Hawaii | 49 |
| Alaska | 52 |
More Special Education Rankings in California
Special Education Related Rankings by Major
One of 14 majors within the area of study, special education has other similar majors worth exploring.
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 10 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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