2023 Best Value Special Education Master's Degree Schools in California
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Special Education Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 30 schools in California to see which master's degree 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.
Top 10 Best Special Education Master's Degree Schools
Our analysis found California State University - Los Angeles to be the best value school for special education students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public school with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal State LA are $8,219 a year.
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Out of the 30 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the # 2 spot on the list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the city of Long Beach.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSULB are $8,280 a year.
Read full report on Special Education at California State University - Long Beach
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Concordia University, Irvine helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value special education schools in California. Concordia University, Irvine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Concordia University, Irvine are $8,564 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Concordia University, Irvine also did well on our Best Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Full Special Education at Concordia University, Irvine Report
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - San Marcos is a great value for special education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of San Marcos, CSUSM is a public college with a fairly large student population.
CSUSM graduate students pay an average of $9,161 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - San Bernardino helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value special education schools in California. Located in the city of San Bernardino, CSUSB is a public school with a fairly large student population.
CSUSB graduate students pay an average of $8,647 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Full Special Education at California State University - San Bernardino Report
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California State University - Fresno came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public college with a very large student population.
Fresno State graduate students pay an average of $8,087 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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California State University - East Bay ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in California 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 graduate student at Cal State East Bay are $8,429 a year.
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California State University - Northridge landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree special education programs. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a fairly large student population.
CSUN graduate students pay an average of $8,477 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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California State University - Dominguez Hills ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in California list. CSUDH is a fairly large public school located in the city of Carson.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUDH are $8,494 a year.
Read full report on Special Education at California State University - Dominguez Hills
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Point Loma Nazarene University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for special education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. PLNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.
PLNU graduate students pay an average of $11,880 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Special Education at Point Loma Nazarene University
Request InformationBest Value Special Education Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value 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 |
More Special Education Rankings in California
Majors Related to Special Ed
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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