Special Education teaching is one of the fasted growing fields in the teaching profession. The best colleges for special education teaching offer degrees with specialization in the field, training students in the latest developments and helping to build a better society through economic opportunity for people of all developmental backgrounds.
50 Best Colleges for Special Education Teaching Majors
This is our RealRankTM ranking of the best colleges for Special Education Teaching majors.
| Rank | College | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanderbilt University | Nashville | TN |
| 2 | University of Texas | Austin | TX |
| 3 | University of Kansas | Lawrence | KS |
| 4 | University of Illinois | Champaign | IL |
| 5 | University of Georgia | Athens | GA |
| 6 | University Of Wisconsin | Madison | WI |
| 7 | University of Florida | Gainesville | FL |
| 8 | University of Maryland | College Park | MD |
| 9 | Clemson University | Clemson | SC |
| 10 | University of Minnesota | Twin Cities | MN |
| 11 | Penn State | University Park | PA |
| 12 | Florida State University | Tallahassee | FL |
| 13 | The Ohio State University | Columbus | OH |
| 14 | Texas A&M University | College Station | TX |
| 15 | University of Oregon | Eugene | OR |
| 16 | University of Washington | Seattle | WA |
| 17 | Indiana University | Bloomington | IN |
| 18 | Arizona State University | Tempe | AZ |
| 19 | Kansas State University | Manhattan | KS |
| 20 | University of Virginia | Charlottesville | VA |
| 21 | University of Kentucky | Lexington | KY |
| 22 | University of Utah | Salt Lake City | UT |
| 23 | University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa | AL |
| 24 | University of Arizona | Tuscon | AZ |
| 25 | University of Tennessee | Knoxville | TN |
| 26 | Michigan State University | East Lansing | MI |
| 27 | Brigham Young University | Salt Lake City | UT |
| 28 | Liberty University | Lynchburg | VA |
| 29 | University of Nevada - Las Vegas (UNLV) | Las Vegas | NV |
| 30 | Mississippi State University | Starkville | MS |
| 31 | University of North Carolina | Chapel Hill | NC |
| 32 | University of Connecticut | Storrs | CT |
| 33 | University of North Carolina - Charlotte | Charlotte | NC |
| 34 | George Mason University | Fairfax | VA |
| 35 | University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati | OH |
| 36 | College of New Jersey | Ewing | NJ |
| 37 | Columbia University | New York | NY |
| 38 | University of Missouri - Columbia | Columbia | MO |
| 39 | Florida International University | Miami | FL |
| 40 | State University of New York College at Geneseo | Geneseo | NY |
| 41 | Georgia State University | Atlanta | GA |
| 42 | Augustana University | Sioux Falls | MN |
| 43 | Utah State University | Logan | UT |
| 44 | University of Memphis | Memphis | TN |
| 45 | Boston University | Boston | MA |
| 46 | Northern Arizona University | Flagstaff | AZ |
| 47 | Miami University | Oxford | OH |
| 48 | Bradley University | Peoria | IL |
| 49 | Syracuse University | Syracuse | NY |
| 50 | Bowling Green State University | Bowling Green | OH |
More information on our RealRank analyses used in creating this ranking can be found on the About page. The underlined colleges link to our ranking profile specific to that institution. If your college is not profiled as yet, contact us using the contact form.
Have you attended any of these programs? What has been your experience at these universities?
What is an Special Education Teaching Major?
Special education is a fascinating field for many professionals, due the because of the rapid development of specialized techniques for teaching the disabled, combined with the rise in the percentage of children needing special education services in school. It also is a teaching specialty that has proven to expand economic opportunity in an increasingly diverse economy. In most top universities with the special ed. major, within the College of Education (or department). One of the best universities in the field has described the major as playing an important role in civil society:
The mission of the Department of Special Education is to improve the lives of children and youth with disabilities by preparing exceptionally competent teachers and researchers, conducting research that informs and improves educational programs and behavioral interventions, and leading professional associations and advocacy for persons with disabilities. https://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/departments/sped/
Besides core teaching courses, a special education degree typically involves specialized courses, providing the basic analytical skills for students wishing to specialize in this field. This may include skills for working with a diverse range of ages, language skills, and disability levels including not just children with but also adults who may fall in a spectrum of attention deficit issues, developmental disabilities, emotional disorders, developmental delays, visual impairment and dislexia, learning disabilities. Courses may include:
- Legal aspects of special education
- Learning characteristics of students with disabilities
- Practicum in a school resource center
- Teaching English as a second language learners
- Behavior Management
- Assessment of Diverse Learners
- Inclusion .
Special Education Teaching Careers
A major in Special Education Teaching opens career paths in one of the growing, and quite stable, teaching specialties. Few teaching specialties are required by law, but federal law now mandates schools provide teaching services to a wide range of students with different socio-linguistic and developmental backgrounds, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Among the career possibilities open to students coming out of college with a degree in special education teaching are:
- Education specialist
- School resource coordinator
- Licensed teacher
- Inclusion advocate
- IDEA attorney (with advanced degree)
- Private consultant
- Non-profit organization director
- State, county and school district department directors or coordinators.