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2025 Best Special Education Schools in Minnesota

11 Colleges in Minnesota
836 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$52,862 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in special education, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #29 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 11 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Special Education Schools in Minnesota ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 836 degrees in special education to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Special Education School

Best Special Education Schools in Minnesota Your choice of special education school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall 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 Special Education Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Special Ed
Bachelor's Degrees in Special Ed
Master's Degrees in Special Ed

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 Schools in Minnesota list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Special Education in Minnesota

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

10 Top Minnesota Schools in Special Ed

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
78 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$53,748 Median Starting Salary

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a wonderful option for students interested in a degree in special education. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UMN Twin Cities is a great university overall.

There were approximately 78 special education students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the special ed program make about $53,748 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in special education from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
115 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
20.0% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in special education needs to look into University of St Thomas Minnesota. Located in the city of Saint Paul, UST MN is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #106 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UST MN is a great university overall.

There were approximately 115 special education students who graduated with this degree at UST MN in the most recent year we have data available. Those special education students who get their degree from University of St Thomas Minnesota make $5,950 more than the typical special ed grad.

More information about a degree in special education from University of St Thomas Minnesota

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
42 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
9.5% Growth in Graduates

Winona State University is a wonderful option for students pursuing a degree in special education. Winona State is a medium-sized public university located in the distant town of Winona. A Best Colleges rank of #330 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Winona State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 42 special education students who graduated with this degree at Winona State in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, special ed degree recipients typically earn an average of $46,697 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in special education from Winona State University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
165 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$51,476 Median Starting Salary

Minnesota State University - Mankato is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in special education. Located in the small city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #412 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Minnesota State Mankato is a great university overall.

There were about 165 special education students who graduated with this degree at Minnesota State Mankato in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the special ed program report average early career wages of $51,476.

More information about a degree in special education from Minnesota State University - Mankato

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
63 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$48,256 Median Starting Salary

St. Cloud State University is a fairly large public university located in the city of Saint Cloud. This university ranks 33rd out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were roughly 63 special education students who graduated with this degree at St. Cloud State University in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the special ed program earn around $48,256 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in special education from Saint Cloud State University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
63 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
36.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Saint Paul, Bethel University Minnesota is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #476 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Bethel University Minnesota is a great university overall.

There were about 63 special education students who graduated with this degree at Bethel University Minnesota in the most recent year we have data available. Special Education degree recipients from Bethel University Minnesota earn a boost of about $5,644 above the average income of special education graduates.

More information about a degree in special education from Bethel University Minnesota

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
46 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$59,263 Median Starting Salary

Concordia University, Saint Paul is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Saint Paul. This university ranks 45th out of 52 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were approximately 46 special education students who graduated with this degree at Concordia University, Saint Paul in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the special education degree program at Concordia University, Saint Paul get $6,401 above the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in special education from Concordia University, Saint Paul

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In MN
31 Special Ed Degrees Awarded

Southwest Minnesota State University is a medium-sized public university located in the town of Marshall. This university ranks 47th out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were roughly 31 special education students who graduated with this degree at Southwest Minnesota State University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in special education from Southwest Minnesota State University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
45 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$57,948 Median Starting Salary

MSU Moorhead is a small public university located in the suburb of Moorhead. This university ranks 30th out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were approximately 45 special education students who graduated with this degree at MSU Moorhead in the most recent data year. Those special education students who get their degree from Minnesota State University - Moorhead make $5,086 more than the average special ed graduate.

More information about a degree in special education from Minnesota State University - Moorhead

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$57,616 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Bemidji, Bemidji State University is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 40th out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were about 24 special education students who graduated with this degree at Bemidji State University in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the special education program at Bemidji State University get $4,754 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in special education from Bemidji State University

Best Special Education Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Special Education Schools in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Missouri 283 492
Kansas 266 396
Iowa 264 180
Nebraska 238 338
North Dakota 210 181
South Dakota 204 94

View All Rankings >

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

Special Ed Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Special Education 586
Other Special Education & Teaching 96
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism 64
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Early Childhood Special Education Programs 30
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Emotional Disturbances 19
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities 19
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities 9
Education/Teaching of the Gifted & Talented 7
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries 6

View All Special Ed Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Special Ed

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 2,538
General Education 1,851
Educational Administration 1,188
Teacher Education Subject Specific 1,184
Student Counseling 557
Other Education 347
Curriculum & Instruction 327
Instructional Media Design 212
Teaching English or French 201
Teaching Assistants 75

View All Special Ed Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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