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2025 Best General Special Education Schools in California

10 Colleges in California
1,332 Teaching Students with Disabilities Degrees Awarded
General Special Education is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #36 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual looked at 10 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best General Special Education Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,332 degrees in general special education to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great General Special Education School

Best General Special Education Schools in California Your choice of general special education school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall General Special Education School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your General Special Education Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Teaching Students with Disabilities
Master's Degrees in Teaching Students with Disabilities
Doctor's Degrees in Teaching Students with Disabilities

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 General Special Education Schools in California list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

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.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for General Special Education in California

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the teaching students with disabilities degree levels they offer.

10 Top California Schools in Teaching Students with Disabilities

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In CA
64 Teaching Students with Disabilities Degrees Awarded

It's hard to beat California State University - Los Angeles if you wish to pursue a degree in general special education. Cal State LA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 87th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 64 general special education students who graduated with this degree at Cal State LA in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general special education from California State University - Los Angeles

2
National University crest
National University
San Diego, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
364 Teaching Students with Disabilities Degrees Awarded

It's hard to beat National University if you wish to pursue a degree in general special education. Located in the city of San Diego, National University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #249 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means National University is a great university overall.

There were approximately 364 general special education students who graduated with this degree at National University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general special education from National University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
19th Most Popular In CA
5.0% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in general special education has to check out Point Loma Nazarene University. PLNU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Diego. This university ranks 58th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 20 general special education students who graduated with this degree at PLNU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general special education from Point Loma Nazarene University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In CA
35 Teaching Students with Disabilities Degrees Awarded

Any student pursuing a degree in general special education needs to look into California State University - San Bernardino. Located in the city of San Bernardino, CSUSB is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 82nd out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 35 general special education students who graduated with this degree at CSUSB in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general special education from California State University - San Bernardino

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In CA
34 Teaching Students with Disabilities Degrees Awarded

Fresno State is a very large public university located in the city of Fresno. This university ranks 81st out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 34 general special education students who graduated with this degree at Fresno State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general special education from California State University - Fresno

6

Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #271 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Cal State Fullerton is a great university overall.More information about a degree in general special education from California State University - Fullerton

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In CA
94 Teaching Students with Disabilities Degrees Awarded

Brandman is a moderately-sized public university located in the large city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #409 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Brandman is a great university overall.

There were about 94 general special education students who graduated with this degree at Brandman in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general special education from Brandman University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In CA
64 Teaching Students with Disabilities Degrees Awarded

SFSU is a very large public university located in the large city of San Francisco. A Best Colleges rank of #225 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means SFSU is a great university overall.

There were about 64 general special education students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general special education from San Francisco State University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In CA

CSUSM is a large public university located in the large suburb of San Marcos. This university ranks 65th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 15 general special education students who graduated with this degree at CSUSM in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general special education from California State University - San Marcos

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In CA
82 Teaching Students with Disabilities Degrees Awarded

UAGC is a very large private for-profit university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #393 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UAGC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 82 general special education students who graduated with this degree at UAGC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general special education from The University of Arizona Global Campus

Best General Special Education Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best General Special Education Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 223
Oregon 587 131
Nevada 354 205
Hawaii 267 49
Alaska 167 27

View All Rankings >

General Special Education is one of 17 different types of Special Education programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Teaching Students with Disabilities

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Early Childhood Special Education Programs 1,443
Education of the Deaf 39
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism 30
Education/Teaching of the Gifted & Talented 25
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities 25
Other Special Education & Teaching 22
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities 13
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries 3

View All Teaching Students with Disabilities Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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