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Best Value Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region

2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

58 Colleges
$16,778 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$45,069 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Special Education School for You

Special Education is the #29 most popular major in the country with 36,792 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. This report analyzed 58 schools in the Southwest Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for special ed students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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 Schools

$4,995 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Santa Fe Community College to be the best value school for special education students who want to pursue a degree in the Southwest Region . Located in the suburb of Santa Fe, SFCC is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SFCC are $4,995 per year.

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$7,566 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Pima Community College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best special education schools in the Southwest Region . Pima County Community College District is a large public school located in the large city of Tucson.

Pima County Community College District undergraduate students pay an average of $7,566 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that special ed majors at Pima County Community College District take out is $15,125.

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#3

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, TX
$11,726 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 58 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, MSU Texas landed the # 3 spot on the list. MSU Texas is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Wichita Falls.

MSU Texas undergraduate students pay an average of $11,726 in tuition and fees each year.

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$7,540 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central New Mexico Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Albuquerque, CNM is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CNM are $7,540 a year.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Skysong. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. ASU - Skysong is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale.

ASU - Skysong undergraduate students pay an average of $13,092 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, ASU - Skysong also did well on our Best Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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Lubbock Christian University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value special education programs. LCU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lubbock.

LCU undergraduate students pay an average of $24,900 in tuition and fees each year.

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$8,568 Average Tuition & Fees

Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value special education programs. ENMU - Main Campus is a small public school located in the town of Portales.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at ENMU - Main Campus are $8,568 a year.

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#8

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ

Grand Canyon University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the large city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Grand Canyon University are $17,189 a year. After completing their degree, special ed graduates from Grand Canyon University carry an average student debtload of $47,161. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $138.

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$19,333 Average Tuition & Fees

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value special education programs. UT Rio Grande Valley is a very large public school located in the city of Edinburg.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UT Rio Grande Valley are $19,333 a year.

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Ottawa University - Phoenix ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. Ottawa University - Phoenix is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Phoenix.

Ottawa University - Phoenix undergraduate students pay an average of $13,281 in tuition and fees each year.

Ottawa University - Phoenix also claimed a spot on our Best Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

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Best Special Education Colleges by State

Explore the best special education schools for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Texas 1,536
Arizona 3,941
Oklahoma 101
New Mexico 144

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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