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2025 Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

13 Colleges in Illinois
484 Bachelor's Degrees
$46,617 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in special education, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #55 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 13 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of special education. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 484 bachelor's degrees in special education during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Special Education School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois The special ed bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality special ed program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for special education students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Special Ed Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Special Education in Illinois

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in special education.

10 Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in Special Ed

1
151 Annual Graduates
$48,358 Median Starting Salary
$16,935 Median Student Debt

Illinois State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in special education. Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Normal.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the special ed program report average early career income of $48,358.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Illinois State University

2

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in special education has to take a look at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign.

Those special education students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $5,305 more than the average special ed student.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
10 Annual Graduates

Loyola University Chicago is a good choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in special education. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Loyola University Chicago

4

Northern Illinois University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in special education. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the special ed program report average early career earnings of $46,578.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Northern Illinois University

5
Lewis crest
Lewis University
Romeoville, IL

Lewis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Romeoville.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the special ed program earn an average of $45,831 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Lewis University

6
26 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Northeastern Illinois University

7
Aurora crest
Aurora University
Aurora, IL
18 Annual Graduates

Aurora is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Aurora.More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Aurora University

8

Located in the town of Charleston, EIU is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the special ed program earn around $43,955 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Eastern Illinois University

9
14 Annual Graduates

Roosevelt is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Roosevelt University

10

SIUE is a large public university located in the suburb of Edwardsville.

After graduating, special ed bachelor's recipients generally make about $44,205 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Best Special Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Special Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 318
Ohio 252 840
Indiana 235 238
Wisconsin 213 310

View All Rankings >

Special Education is one of 14 different types of Education programs to choose from.

Special Ed Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Special Education 434
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Early Childhood Special Education Programs 41
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities 8
Education/Teaching of Individuals Who are Developmentally Delayed 1

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 2,299
Teacher Education Subject Specific 826
General Education 72
Multilingual Education 6
Educational Administration 2
Educational Assessment 2
Teaching Assistants 1
Other Education 1

Notes and References

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