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2025 Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

23 Colleges in the Plains States Region
597 Bachelor's Degrees
$42,319 Avg Early-Career Salary
a bachelor's degree in special education is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #55 out of 363 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 23 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 597 bachelor's degrees in special education during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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

Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region Your choice of special education for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

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

More Ways to Rank Special Education Schools

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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Special Education in the Plains States Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in special education.

10 Top Plains States Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Special Ed

1

It's hard to beat University of Minnesota - Twin Cities if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in special education. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the special education degree program at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities earn $7,452 more than the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

2

Winona State University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in special education. Winona State is a moderately-sized public university located in the distant town of Winona.

Bachelor's recipients from the special education degree program at Winona State University make $4,378 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

3

Minnesota State University - Mankato is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in special education. Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public university with a large student population.

Those special education students who get their bachelor's degree from Minnesota State University - Mankato receive $4,813 more than the typical special ed grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Minnesota State University - Mankato

4
40 Annual Graduates
$47,017 Median Starting Salary
$34,191 Median Student Debt

University of Nebraska - Lincoln is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in special education. UNL is a very large public university located in the city of Lincoln.

Bachelor's recipients from the special education degree program at University of Nebraska - Lincoln make $4,698 above the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from University of Nebraska - Lincoln

5
35 Annual Graduates

MSU is a small public university located in the small city of Minot.More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Minot State University

6

St. Cloud State University is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Saint Cloud.

Those special education students who get their bachelor's degree from Saint Cloud State University receive $4,343 more than the standard special ed student.

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

7

Located in the city of Springfield, Missouri State is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the special ed program earn around $38,250 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Missouri State University - Springfield

8

Mizzou is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Columbia.

After graduation, special ed bachelor's recipients generally earn around $37,547 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from University of Missouri - Columbia

9

Located in the large city of Omaha, UNOMAHA is a public university with a large student population.

After graduating, special ed bachelor's recipients usually make around $37,998 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in special education from University of Nebraska at Omaha

10
27 Annual Graduates

Located in the town of Wayne, WSC is a public college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in special education from Wayne State College

Best Special Education Colleges by State

Explore the best special education colleges for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Missouri 228 181
Minnesota 215 156
Iowa 197 29
Kansas 184 3
Nebraska 180 207
North Dakota 149 25
South Dakota 148 83

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One of 14 majors within the Education area of study, Special Education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Special Ed Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Special Education 448
Other Special Education & Teaching 55
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Early Childhood Special Education Programs 39
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities 26
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Speech or Language Impairments 11
Elementary Special Education 6
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Secondary Special Education Programs 5
Education of the Deaf 3
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities 2
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities 2

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 6,896
Teacher Education Subject Specific 2,535
General Education 397
Other Education 370
Teaching English or French 48
Curriculum & Instruction 2
Educational Administration 2
Instructional Media Design 2

Notes and References

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