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Best Value Special Education Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

34 Colleges
$23,462 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$59,751 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Special Education 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 Value Special Education Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 34 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for special ed students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Special Education Schools

$6,785 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Los Angeles the best value school in California for special education students. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State LA are $6,785 per year.

Full Special Education at California State University - Los Angeles Report

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Long Beach helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best special education schools in California. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year.

Read full report on Special Education at California State University - Long Beach

$38,740 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 34 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Concordia University, Irvine landed the # 3 spot on the list. Concordia University, Irvine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Irvine.

Concordia University, Irvine undergraduate students pay an average of $38,740 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Special Education at Concordia University, Irvine Report

$7,727 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - San Marcos. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of San Marcos, CSUSM is a public college with a large student population.

CSUSM undergraduate students pay an average of $7,727 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Special Education at California State University - San Marcos Report

$7,213 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - San Bernardino is a great value for special education students. Located in the medium-sized city of San Bernardino, CSUSB is a public school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUSB are $7,213 per year.

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$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, California State University - Fresno did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Special Education at California State University - Fresno

$6,995 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - East Bay did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for special education students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 a year.

Full Special Education at California State University - East Bay Report

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Northridge landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value special education programs. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUN are $7,043 a year.

Full Special Education at California State University - Northridge Report

$7,060 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students. CSUDH is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Carson.

CSUDH undergraduate students pay an average of $7,060 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Special Education at California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

$39,500 Average Tuition & Fees

Point Loma Nazarene University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Schools in California list. PLNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

PLNU undergraduate students pay an average of $39,500 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Special Education at Point Loma Nazarene University Report

Best Value Special Education Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value 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

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.

  • 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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