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Best Special Education Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Special Education Master's Degree Schools in California

30 Colleges
$49,761 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Special Education Master's Degree 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.

The Best Special Education Master's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 30 schools in California to see which master'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 Master’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Special Education Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Special Education Master's Degree Schools

#1

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Brandman University the best school in California for special education students working on their master’s degree. Brandman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Irvine.

Read full report on Special Education at Brandman University

The excellent master’s degree programs at Fresno Pacific University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best special education schools in California. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno Pacific is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Special Education at Fresno Pacific University Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at Point Loma Nazarene University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best special education schools in California. PLNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

Full Special Education at Point Loma Nazarene University Report

Out of the 30 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Los Angeles landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Special Education at California State University - Los Angeles Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Notre Dame de Namur University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in California list. NDNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Belmont.

Read More…

#6

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

Loyola Marymount University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Special Education at Loyola Marymount University

California State University - San Marcos landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree special education programs. Located in the suburb of San Marcos, CSUSM is a public college with a large student population.

Read full report on Special Education at California State University - San Marcos

#8

University of Redlands

Redlands, CA

With a ranking of #8, University of Redlands did quite well on this year’s best schools for special education students working on their master’s degree. University of Redlands is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Redlands.

Read full report on Special Education at University of Redlands

With a ranking of #9, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on this year’s best schools for special education students working on their master’s degree. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

Read More…

With a ranking of #10, Concordia University, Irvine did quite well on this year’s best schools for special education students working on their master’s degree. Concordia University, Irvine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Irvine.

Read full report on Special Education at Concordia University, Irvine

Best Special Education Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Special Education Colleges 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

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 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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