Special Education at Western Kentucky University

Every special education school has its own distinct culture and strengths. We've pulled together some statistics and other details to help you see how the special ed program at Western Kentucky University stacks up to those at other schools.

WKU is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky and approximately 17,517 students attend the school each year. Of the 195 students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University in 2021, 28 of them were special education majors.

Want to know more about the career opportunities in this field? Check out the Careers in Special Education section at the bottom of this page.

WKU Special Education Degrees Available

• Bachelor’s Degree in Special Ed
• Master’s Degree in Special Ed

Online Classes Are Available at WKU

If you are a working student or have a busy schedule, you may want to consider taking online classes. While these classes used to be mostly populated by returning adults, more and more traditional students are turning to this option.

Are you one of the many who prefer to take online classes? WKU offers distance education options for special ed at the following degree levels:

• Master’s Degree

WKU Special Education Rankings

The following rankings from College Factual show how the special ed progam at WKU compares to programs at other colleges and universities.

Note: Rankings don't always give a complete picture of a school's strengths and weaknesses, so it's a good idea to extend your research and also look at other factors when trying to decide if the school is right for you.

Bachelor’s Degree Overall Quality & Other Notable Rankings

The special ed major at WKU is not ranked on College Factual’s Best Colleges and Universities for Special Education. This could be for a number of reasons, such as not having enough data on the major or school to make an accurate assessment of its quality.

Ranking Type	Rank
Most Focused Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools	203
Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools	314
	336
	610

In 2021, 18 students received their master’s degree in special ed from WKU. This makes it the #238 most popular school for special ed master’s degree candidates in the country.

Earnings of WKU Special Ed Graduates

The median salary of special ed students who receive their bachelor's degree at WKU is $32,727. Unfortunately, this is lower than the national average of $38,748 for all special ed students.

Special Ed Student Demographics at WKU

Take a look at the following statistics related to the make-up of the special ed majors at Western Kentucky University.

WKU Special Education Bachelor’s Program

During the 2020-2021 academic year, 28 students graduated with a bachelor's degree in special ed from WKU. About 11% were men and 89% were women.

About 89% of those who receive a bachelor's degree in special ed at WKU are white. This is above average for this degree on the nationwide level.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from Western Kentucky University with a bachelor's in special ed.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	1
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	25
International Students	1
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

WKU Special Education Master’s Program

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 18 students earned a master's degree in special ed from WKU. About 89% of these graduates were women and the other 11% were men.

Of the students who received a special ed master's degree from WKU, 89% were white. This is above average for this degree on the natiowide level.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from Western Kentucky University with a master's in special ed.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	1
Black or African American	1
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	16
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

WKU also has a doctoral program available in special ed. In 2021, 0 student graduated with a doctor's degree in this field.

Concentrations Within Special Education

The following special ed concentations are available at Western Kentucky University. The table shows all degrees awarded in this field awarded for all degree levels at Western Kentucky University. A concentration may not be available for your level.

Concentration	Annual Degrees Awarded
General Special Education	41
Education/Teaching of the Gifted & Talented	5

Related Majors

• Teaching English or French
• Instructional Media Design
• Educational Administration
• Curriculum & Instruction
• Student Counseling

Careers That Special Ed Grads May Go Into

A degree in special ed can lead to the following careers. Since job numbers and average salaries can vary by geographic location, we have only included the numbers for KY, the home state for Western Kentucky University.

Occupation	Jobs in KY	Average Salary in KY
Kindergarten or Elementary School Special Education Teachers	3,250	$54,010
Special Education Professors	2,280	$54,940
Middle School Special Education Teachers	1,430	$54,020
Interpreters and Translators	650	$49,690
Special Education Teachers	510	$58,910

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• Image Credit: By OPMaster under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.