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2025 Best Special Education Schools in Michigan

11 Colleges in Michigan
677 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 Michigan ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 677 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 Michigan 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

Bachelor's Degrees in Special Ed
Master's Degrees in Special Ed
Doctor'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 Michigan 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 Michigan

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 Michigan Schools in Special Ed

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
75 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
52.0% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat Western Michigan University if you wish to pursue a degree in special education. Located in the small city of Kalamazoo, WMU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #322 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means WMU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 75 special education students who graduated with this degree at WMU in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, special ed degree recipients usually make around $53,897 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in special education from Western Michigan University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
79 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$51,551 Median Starting Salary

Eastern Michigan University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in special education. Eastern Michigan is a large public university located in the large suburb of Ypsilanti. This university ranks 15th out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were roughly 79 special education students who graduated with this degree at Eastern Michigan in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, special ed degree recipients generally earn about $51,551 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in special education from Eastern Michigan University

3
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
63 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$57,308 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in special education needs to check out Michigan State University. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 63 special education students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the special education major at Michigan State University get $4,446 above the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

4
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
70 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
15.7% Growth in Graduates

Central Michigan University is a great option for students interested in a degree in special education. Central Michigan is a large public university located in the town of Mount Pleasant. A Best Colleges rank of #346 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Central Michigan is a great university overall.

There were roughly 70 special education students who graduated with this degree at Central Michigan in the most recent data year. After graduation, special ed degree recipients typically make about $46,522 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in special education from Central Michigan University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
62 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$57,176 Median Starting Salary

Located in the fringe town of Allendale, GVSU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #342 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means GVSU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 62 special education students who graduated with this degree at GVSU in the most recent data year. Those special education students who get their degree from Grand Valley State University earn $4,314 more than the typical special ed graduate.

More information about a degree in special education from Grand Valley State University

6
Hope crest
Hope College
Holland, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
34 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
17.6% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Holland, Hope is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 16th out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were roughly 34 special education students who graduated with this degree at Hope in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the special ed program state that they receive average early career income of $48,630.

More information about a degree in special education from Hope College

7
Saginaw Valley State University crest
Saginaw Valley State University
University Center, MI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
96 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
68.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of University Center, Saginaw Valley State University is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 28th out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 96 special education students who graduated with this degree at Saginaw Valley State University in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, special ed degree recipients usually make around $47,062 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in special education from Saginaw Valley State University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In MI

Located in the town of Marquette, Northern Michigan University is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 35th out of 56 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 20 special education students who graduated with this degree at Northern Michigan University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in special education from Northern Michigan University

9
Oakland crest
Oakland University
Rochester Hills, MI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
55 Special Ed Degrees Awarded
$61,223 Median Starting Salary

Oakland is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Rochester Hills. This university ranks 10th out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 55 special education students who graduated with this degree at Oakland in the most recent data year. Special Education degree recipients from Oakland University get an earnings boost of about $8,361 over the typical earnings of special education majors.

More information about a degree in special education from Oakland University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$50,623 Median Starting Salary

Wayne State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Detroit. A Best Colleges rank of #433 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Wayne State is a great university overall.

There were about 20 special education students who graduated with this degree at Wayne State in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the special ed program make about $50,623 in their early career salary.

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

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
Ohio 314 1,286
Illinois 304 1,090
Indiana 294 1,835
Wisconsin 273 527

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 343
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities 113
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities 64
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Vision Impairments Including Blindness 43
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Emotional Disturbances 38
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism 36
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries 23
Elementary Special Education 6
Other Special Education & Teaching 5
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Speech or Language Impairments 2

View All Special Ed Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Special Ed

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 1,557
Teacher Education Subject Specific 1,356
Educational Administration 811
General Education 764
Instructional Media Design 407
Curriculum & Instruction 215
Student Counseling 197
Teaching English or French 139
Other Education 48
Multilingual Education 31

View All Special Ed Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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