Special Education at Western Michigan University

If you plan to study special education, take a look at what Western Michigan University has to offer and decide if the program is a good match for you. Get started with the following essential facts.

WMU is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan and approximately 19,887 students attend the school each year. Of the 163 students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University in 2021, 11 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.

WMU Special Education Degrees Available

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

WMU Special Education Rankings

The following rankings from College Factual show how the special ed progam at WMU 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 WMU 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
	17
Most Focused Special Education Doctor’s Degree Schools	44
	217
Best Value Special Education Schools	373

In 2021, 24 students received their master’s degree in special ed from WMU. This makes it the #196 most popular school for special ed master’s degree candidates in the country.

There were 1 student who received their doctoral degrees in special ed, making the school the #48 most popular school in the United States for this category of students.

How Much Do Special Ed Graduates from WMU Make?

The median salary of special ed students who receive their bachelor's degree at WMU is $40,756. This is 5% higher than $38,748, which is the national average for all special ed bachelor's degree recipients.

Special Ed Student Demographics at WMU

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

WMU Special Education Bachelor’s Program

During the 2020-2021 academic year, 11 students graduated with a bachelor's degree in special ed from WMU. About 9% were men and 91% were women.

About 100% of those who receive a bachelor's degree in special ed at WMU 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 Michigan University with a bachelor's in special ed.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	11
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

WMU Special Education Master’s Program

For the most recent academic year available, 25% of special ed master's degrees went to men and 75% went to women. Nationwide, master's degree programs only see 13% men graduate in special ed each year. WMU does a better job at serving the male population as it supports 12% more men than average.

Of the students who received a special ed master's degree from WMU, 71% 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 Michigan University with a master's in special ed.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	0
Black or African American	5
Hispanic or Latino	2
White	17
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

WMU also has a doctoral program available in special ed. In 2021, 1 students graduated with a doctor's degree in this field.

Concentrations Within Special Education

If you plan to be a special ed major, you may want to focus your studies on one of the following concentrations. The completion numbers here include all graduates who receive any type of degree in this field from Western Michigan University. Some of these focus areas may not be available for your degree level.

Concentration	Annual Degrees Awarded
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Vision Impairments Including Blindness	14
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities	11
General Special Education	7
Other Special Education & Teaching	4

Related Majors

• Education Philosophy
• Educational Assessment
• Instructional Media Design
• Other Education
• Teaching English or French

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 MI, the home state for Western Michigan University.

Occupation	Jobs in MI	Average Salary in MI
Kindergarten or Elementary School Special Education Teachers	2,460	$66,820
Special Education Teachers	1,880	$72,670
Special Education Professors	1,830	$63,700
Interpreters and Translators	870	$41,450
Middle School Special Education Teachers	660	$61,540

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 TheKuLeR under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.