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Best Value Special Education Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

34 Colleges
$23,462 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$59,751 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Special Education School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, special education was ranked 3rd in California. In fact, 2,861 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

Today's teaching students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Teaching Degree Search has created the Best Value Special Education Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 34 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value 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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Special Education Schools

$6,785 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Los Angeles the best value school in California for special education students. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State LA are $6,785 per year.

Read More…

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Long Beach helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best special education schools in California. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year.

Full Special Education at California State University - Long Beach Report

$38,740 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Concordia University, Irvine helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best special education schools in California. Located in the city of Irvine, Concordia University, Irvine is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Concordia University, Irvine undergraduate students pay an average of $38,740 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Concordia University, Irvine also made our Best Special Education Schools in California list, coming in at #5.

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$7,727 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - San Marcos is a great value for special education students. CSUSM is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of San Marcos.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUSM are $7,727 per year.

Read full report on Special Education at California State University - San Marcos

$7,213 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - San Bernardino. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in California list. CSUSB is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of San Bernardino.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUSB are $7,213 a year.

Full Special Education at California State University - San Bernardino Report

$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Fresno did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for special education students. It came in at #6 on the list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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$6,995 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - East Bay ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Schools in California list. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 a year.

Full Special Education at California State University - East Bay Report

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Northridge ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Schools in California list. CSUN is a very large public school located in the city of Northridge.

CSUN undergraduate students pay an average of $7,043 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Special Education at California State University - Northridge

$7,060 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students. Located in the city of Carson, CSUDH is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUDH are $7,060 per year.

Full Special Education at California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

$39,500 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #10, Point Loma Nazarene University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students. Located in the city of San Diego, PLNU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at PLNU are $39,500 a year.

Full Special Education at Point Loma Nazarene University Report

Best Value Special Education Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 238
Oregon 234
Nevada 215
Hawaii 49
Alaska 52

Special Education is one of 14 different types of teaching programs to choose from.

Special Ed Concentrations

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 25 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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