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Most Popular Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California

2023 Most Popular Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California

15 Colleges
$49,862 Avg Salary
$22,246 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Special Education Graduate Certificate 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 Most Popular Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 15 schools in California to see which graduate certificate programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Special Education program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Special Education Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named University of Southern California the most popular school in California for special education students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 80 students majoring in special ed at USC, 11% are male and 89% are female.

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The in-demand graduate certificate programs at Saint Mary’s College of California helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular special education schools in California. SMC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Moraga.

Women make up 86% of the special ed majors at the school.

Full Special Education at Saint Mary’s College of California Report

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#3

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means San Francisco State University is a great place for special education students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 37 students majoring in special ed at SFSU, 3% are male and 97% are female.

Full Special Education at San Francisco State University Report

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Out of the 15 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 college with a very large student population.

Women make up 81% of the special ed majors at the school.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

Women make up 87% of the special ed majors at the school.

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

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#5

Holy Names University

Oakland, CA

The in-demand graduate certificate programs at Holy Names University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular special education schools in California. Located in the large city of Oakland, HNU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Of the 15 students majoring in special ed at HNU, 13% are male and 87% are female.

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#7

Mills College

Oakland, CA

With a ranking of #7, Mills College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for special education students working on their graduate certificate. Mills is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Oakland.

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California State University - Northridge did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for special education students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Special Education at California State University - Northridge Report

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#9

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate special education programs. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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#9

National University

La Jolla, CA

National University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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Best Special Education Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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 15 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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