Majors

Best Colleges for Special Education and Teaching, by Earnings

437 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Special Education and Teaching, about 7,923 degrees a year. Across the 161 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $50,897 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	Manhattan University	NY	$83,932	23	78.9%
2	Utah State University	UT	$74,535	86	92.5%
3	State University of New York at Cortland	NY	$74,079	94	59.8%
4	Seton Hall University	NJ	$72,067	24	73.3%
5	Molloy University	NY	$71,781	41	81.7%
6	The College of New Jersey	NJ	$66,767	68	62.3%
7	CUNY Medgar Evers College	NY	$66,377	17	86.1%
8	Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia	PA	$64,827	25	88.8%
9	Western Washington University	WA	$64,780	102	93.3%
10	Nevada State University	NV	$64,201	16	86.8%
11	La Salle University	PA	$63,434	13	96.6%
12	Syracuse University	NY	$62,864	29	45.9%
13	SUNY Old Westbury	NY	$62,389	50	83.6%
14	University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	$62,087	22	86.6%
15	Kean University	NJ	$61,158	8	75.9%
16	University of Connecticut	CT	$61,066	16	52.4%
17	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$60,958	55	96.2%
18	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$60,685	24	42.4%
19	East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania	PA	$60,391	34	92.1%
20	Southern Connecticut State University	CT	$60,365	36	91.5%
21	University of North Florida	FL	$59,429	26	53.2%
22	University of Hartford	CT	$59,185	16	95.8%
23	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	NM	$58,953	11	89%
24	Gonzaga University	WA	$58,772	12	81.7%
25	University of Minnesota	MN	$58,675	24	79.8%
26	Michigan State University	MI	$58,522	49	84.8%
27	Wayne State University	MI	$58,182	11	81.2%
28	Salve Regina University	RI	$57,837	11	68.2%
29	Florida State University	FL	$57,573	20	24.2%
30	Boston University	MA	$57,294	7	11.1%
31	SUNY Buffalo State University	NY	$57,096	17	73%
32	Towson University	MD	$56,971	162	82%
33	Rhode Island College	RI	$56,477	8	91.8%
34	Florida Gulf Coast University	FL	$56,467	8	63.4%
35	Arizona State University	AZ	$56,311	93	89.9%
36	Elmira College	NY	$56,168	13	77%
37	Keuka College	NY	$55,992	22	68.1%
38	St. Joseph's University-New York	NY	$55,812	181	72.1%
39	Trinity Christian College	IL	$55,713	13	84.9%
40	Bridgewater State University	MA	$55,692	46	87.8%
41	University of Nebraska at Omaha	NE	$55,665	34	87%
42	Auburn University	AL	$55,544	55	45.9%
43	SUNY at Fredonia	NY	$55,441	30	77.7%
44	Purdue University	IN	$55,308	17	49.9%
45	Eastern Washington University	WA	$55,244	20	90.8%
46	Providence College	RI	$54,927	40	50.9%
47	SUNY College at Geneseo	NY	$54,908	64	66.5%
48	Neumann University	PA	$54,846	20	81.3%
49	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania	PA	$54,845	66	90.8%
50	Doane University	NE	$54,733	8	98%
51	Georgia College & State University	GA	$54,380	15	78.2%
52	Eastern Michigan University	MI	$54,303	32	79.6%
53	University of Toledo	OH	$53,958	13	92%
54	Westfield State University	MA	$53,678	12	81.4%
55	Northern Arizona University	AZ	$53,619	103	89.6%
56	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	PA	$53,494	40	90.8%
57	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	$53,429	18	95.2%
58	Millersville University of Pennsylvania	PA	$53,356	52	86.2%
59	Georgia Southern University	GA	$53,272	8	87.9%
60	Northern Illinois University	IL	$53,148	48	69.8%
61	University of Arkansas	AR	$53,054	18	74.3%
62	Illinois State University	IL	$52,864	151	88.2%
63	University of North Carolina Wilmington	NC	$52,494	12	64.2%
64	Thiel College	PA	$52,302	13	71.6%
65	University of Arizona	AZ	$52,173	12	86.1%
66	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	WI	$52,142	12	90.7%
67	Indiana University	IN	$52,008	25	78.2%
68	Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania	PA	$51,949	73	93.1%
69	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	WI	$51,908	37	85.7%
70	University of Missouri	MO	$51,901	20	78.5%
71	Metropolitan State University of Denver	CO	$51,786	11	98.8%
72	University of South Florida	FL	$51,759	5	43.2%
73	St Bonaventure University	NY	$51,664	24	81.7%
74	Minnesota State University-Mankato	MN	$51,630	29	88.4%
75	Lewis University	IL	$51,522	46	71.3%
76	University of Dayton	OH	$51,389	19	65.5%
77	Ball State University	IN	$51,267	39	85.5%
78	University of Georgia	GA	$51,259	31	37.7%
79	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	$51,258	45	85%
80	University of Northern Colorado	CO	$51,008	30	85.9%
81	Niagara University	NY	$50,897	33	87.4%
82	Grand Canyon University	AZ	$50,892	600	78.9%
83	The University of Alabama	AL	$50,763	37	76.6%
84	Western Michigan University	MI	$50,665	19	84.6%
85	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	$50,585	24	41.6%
86	Carroll University	WI	$50,570	1	66.8%
87	Jacksonville State University	AL	$50,404	17	77.7%
88	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	$50,302	32	45.2%
89	Appalachian State University	NC	$50,264	20	90.1%
90	Grace College and Theological Seminary	IN	$50,212	6	82.2%
91	Hood College	MD	$50,200	14	77.8%
92	Ohio State University	OH	$50,194	21	60.6%
93	Central Michigan University	MI	$50,095	22	89.8%
94	Saginaw Valley State University	MI	$50,078	65	72.1%
95	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania	PA	$50,069	48	86.5%
96	Winona State University	MN	$49,824	27	75.5%
97	Grand Valley State University	MI	$49,814	55	83%
98	Mercyhurst University	PA	$49,638	27	81%
99	Concordia University-Wisconsin	WI	$49,463	8	78.2%
100	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	$49,301	46	79.6%

Showing the top 100 of 161 colleges that report earnings. 276 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Special Education and Teaching graduates?

Manhattan University ($83,932), Utah State University ($74,535), State University of New York at Cortland ($74,079), Seton Hall University ($72,067), Molloy University ($71,781) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Special Education and Teaching majors make?

The median across 161 colleges is $50,897 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $30,145 to $83,932.

Which colleges have the biggest Special Education and Teaching programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Grand Canyon University (600), Bowling Green State University-Main Campus (203), St. Joseph's University-New York (181), Towson University (162), Illinois State University (151).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Special Education and Teaching". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.