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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 small suburb of Santa Fe, SFCC is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SFCC are $4,995 a year.

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$7,566 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Pima Community College is a great value for special education students. Pima County Community College District is a fairly large public school located in the city of Tucson.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Pima County Community College District are $7,566 per 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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend MSU Texas. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. MSU Texas is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Wichita Falls.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MSU Texas are $11,726 per year.

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$7,540 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Central New Mexico Community College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the large 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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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Arizona State University - Skysong is a great value for special education students. ASU - Skysong is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ASU - Skysong are $13,092 per year.

ASU - Skysong excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region list.

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With a ranking of #6, Lubbock Christian University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students. LCU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lubbock.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LCU are $24,900 per 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 remote 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

With a ranking of #8, Grand Canyon University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students. Located in the large city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Grand Canyon University undergraduate students pay an average of $17,189 in tuition and fees each 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

With a ranking of #9, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students. UT Rio Grande Valley is a very large public school located in the midsize 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 small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Phoenix.

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

Ottawa University - Phoenix excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Special Education Schools in the Southwest Region list.

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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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