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Most Popular Special Education Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

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2023 Most Popular Special Education Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

139 Colleges
$49,761 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Special Education Master's Degree 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 can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Most Popular Special Education Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 139 schools in the Southeast Region to see which master's degree 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 colleges and universities below are the most popular for special ed majors pursuing a master's degree.

#1

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

Our analysis found George Mason University to be the most popular school for special education students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Southeast Region . Located in the large suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public college with a very large student population.

About 91% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 9% are male.

Full Special Education at George Mason University Report

#2

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Liberty University is a great place for special education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

About 84% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 16% are male.

Read full report on Special Education at Liberty University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of West Florida. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. UWF is a large public school located in the small city of Pensacola.

Of the 243 students majoring in special ed at UWF, 14% are male and 86% are female.

Read More…

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Arkansas State University - Main Campus is a great place for special education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Jonesboro, A-State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 94% of the special ed majors at the school.

Read More…

#5

University of the Cumberlands

Williamsburg, KY

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of the Cumberlands is a great place for special education students working on their master’s degree. Cumberlands is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the town of Williamsburg.

About 52% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 48% are male.

Read full report on Special Education at University of the Cumberlands

#6

University of West Alabama

Livingston, AL

University of West Alabama ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. University of West Alabama is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Livingston.

Women make up 79% of the special ed majors at the school.

Full Special Education at University of West Alabama Report

#7

Georgetown College

Georgetown, KY

Georgetown College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for special education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the fringe town of Georgetown, Georgetown College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Of the 86 students majoring in special ed at Georgetown College, 26% are male and 74% are female.

Read full report on Special Education at Georgetown College

#8

William Carey University

Hattiesburg, MS

William Carey University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for special education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. William Carey University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Hattiesburg.

About 92% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 8% are male.

Read full report on Special Education at William Carey University

Eastern Kentucky University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Eastern is a large public school located in the town of Richmond.

Women make up 88% of the special ed majors at the school.

Read More…

#10

Georgia State University

Atlanta, GA

Georgia State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree special education programs. Georgia State is a very large public school located in the large city of Atlanta.

Women make up 89% of the special ed majors at the school.

Read full report on Special Education at Georgia State University

#11

Radford University

Radford, VA

Radford University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree special education programs. Radford is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Radford.

About 87% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 13% are male.

Read full report on Special Education at Radford University

#12

Mississippi College

Clinton, MS

Mississippi College ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. MC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Clinton.

Women make up 93% of the special ed majors at the school.

Read full report on Special Education at Mississippi College

#13

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA

With a ranking of #13, Old Dominion University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for special education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Norfolk, Old Dominion is a public school with a very large student population.

Women make up 94% of the special ed majors at the school.

Read More…

University of Central Florida landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree special education programs. Located in the large suburb of Orlando, UCF is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 98% of the special ed majors at the school.

Read full report on Special Education at University of Central Florida

Georgia College & State University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in the distant town of Milledgeville, Georgia College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

About 86% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 14% are male.

Read full report on Special Education at Georgia College & State University

#16

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for special education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.

Of the 39 students majoring in special ed at Vanderbilt, 5% are male and 95% are female.

Full Special Education at Vanderbilt University Report

#17

Mississippi State University

Mississippi State, MS

With a ranking of #17, Mississippi State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for special education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the remote town of Mississippi State, Mississippi State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 92% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 8% are male.

Full Special Education at Mississippi State University Report

#18

Nova Southeastern University

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Nova Southeastern University landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree special education programs. Located in the large suburb of Fort Lauderdale, NUS Florida is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

About 82% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 18% are male.

Read More…

#18

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

With a ranking of #18, University of Florida did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for special education students working on their master’s degree. UF is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville.

Full Special Education at University of Florida Report

Virginia Commonwealth University ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the city of Richmond, VCU is a public school with a very large student population.

About 79% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 21% are male.

Read full report on Special Education at Virginia Commonwealth University

#18

University of West Georgia

Carrollton, GA

University of West Georgia came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in the town of Carrollton, University of West Georgia is a public college with a large student population.

Women make up 88% of the special ed majors at the school.

Read full report on Special Education at University of West Georgia

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Special Education Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
22 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
22 Southeastern University Lakeland, FL
24 Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY
25 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL
25 Appalachian State University Boone, NC
27 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
27 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL

Best Special Education Colleges by State

Explore the best special education colleges for a specific state in the Southeast region.

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 550
Virginia 1,238
North Carolina 477
Florida 1,103
Tennessee 354
Kentucky 608
South Carolina 266
Louisiana 103
Arkansas 351
Alabama 437
Mississippi 269
West Virginia 46

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 26 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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