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Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

20 Colleges
$49,862 Avg Salary
$22,246 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Special Education Graduate Certificate 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best graduate certificate programs 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 the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Our 2023 rankings named Purdue University - Main Campus the best school in the Great Lakes Region for special education students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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Out of the 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the # 2 spot on the list. IU Bloomington is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Bloomington.

Full Special Education at Indiana University - Bloomington Report

#3

Ball State University

Muncie, IN

Out of the 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Ball State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Muncie, Ball State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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The excellent graduate certificate programs at Illinois State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best special education schools in the Great Lakes Region . Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

Full Special Education at Illinois State University Report

#5

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Olivet Nazarene University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the suburb of Bourbonnais, Olivet Nazarene is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Special Education at Olivet Nazarene University

#6

Viterbo University

La Crosse, WI

With a ranking of #6, Viterbo University did quite well on this year’s best schools for special education students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the small city of La Crosse, Viterbo is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Special Education at Viterbo University Report

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate special education programs. Located in the city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Special Education at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Report

#8

University of Dayton

Dayton, OH

University of Dayton 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 #8 on the list. Located in the city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Special Education at University of Dayton Report

Baldwin Wallace University 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 #9 on the list. Baldwin Wallace College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Berea.

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With a ranking of #10, Loyola University Chicago did quite well on this year’s best schools for special education students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Read full report on Special Education at Loyola University Chicago

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 20 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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