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Best Value Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee

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2023 Best Value Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

19 Colleges
$19,891 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$38,520 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, special education students earned 354 degrees and certificates from a Tennessee school, making the subject the 6th in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which teaching program is right for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Teaching Degree Search has created its Best Value Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee ranking. This report analyzed 19 schools in Tennessee to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for special ed students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee

Check out the special ed bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Special Education Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Middle Tennessee State University the best value school in Tennessee for special education students working on their bachelor’s degree. Middle Tennessee State University is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Murfreesboro.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Middle Tennessee State University are $9,232 per year. Special Ed majors at Middle Tennessee State University take out an average of $23,321 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Special Education at Middle Tennessee State University Report

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Tennessee Technological University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value special education schools in Tennessee. Tennessee Tech University is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Cookeville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Tennessee Tech University are $9,802 a year.

Tennessee Tech University also took the #2 spot in our Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee rankings.

Full Special Education at Tennessee Technological University Report

#3

University of Memphis

Memphis, TN

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Memphis. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee list. Located in the city of Memphis, UofM is a public school with a very large student population.

UofM undergraduate students pay an average of $10,056 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, special ed graduates from UofM carry an average student debtload of $22,449.

Read full report on Special Education at University of Memphis

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee list. UT Chattanooga is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Chattanooga.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UT Chattanooga are $9,848 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UT Chattanooga also is in the top 20% of our Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee ranking.

Full Special Education at The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga Report

#5

Austin Peay State University

Clarksville, TN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Austin Peay State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee list. Austin Peay State University is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Clarksville.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Austin Peay State University are $8,431 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, special ed graduates from Austin Peay State University carry an average student debtload of $24,375.

Full Special Education at Austin Peay State University Report

With a ranking of #6, The University of Tennessee - Martin did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the town of Martin, UT Martin is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

UT Martin undergraduate students pay an average of $9,912 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Special Education at The University of Tennessee - Martin

With a ranking of #7, East Tennessee State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at ETSU are $9,438 a year.

Read More…

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee ranking. UT Knoxville is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Knoxville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UT Knoxville are $13,244 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, special ed graduates from UT Knoxville carry an average student debtload of $21,370.

Read full report on Special Education at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

#9

Union University

Jackson, TN

With a ranking of #9, Union University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students working on their bachelor’s degree. Union is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Jackson.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Union are $16,520 a year.

Full Special Education at Union University Report

#10

Lee University

Cleveland, TN

With a ranking of #10, Lee University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Cleveland, Lee University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Lee University are $20,500 a year.

Read More…

Best Value Special Education Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Kentucky 608
North Carolina 477
Florida 1,103
Georgia 550
Virginia 1,238
West Virginia 46
South Carolina 266
Arkansas 351
Louisiana 103
Mississippi 269
Alabama 437

One of 14 majors within the teaching area of study, special education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Special Ed Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Special Education 24,497
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Early Childhood Special Education Programs 3,111
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities 1,789
Elementary Special Education 1,625
Other Special Education & Teaching 1,227
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism 1,133
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Secondary Special Education Programs 655
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities 540
Education/Teaching of the Gifted & Talented 504
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Speech or Language Impairments 415
Education of the Deaf 363
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Emotional Disturbances 226
Education/Teaching of Individuals Who are Developmentally Delayed 222
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Junior High/Middle School Special Education Programs 181
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Vision Impairments Including Blindness 134
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities 122
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Orthopedic & Other Physical Health Impairments 47
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries 1

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
General Education 29,810
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 19 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to woodleywonderworks.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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