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Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

11 Colleges
$18,062 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$49,862 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Special Education Graduate Certificate School for You

In 2020-2021, special education students earned 1,854 degrees and certificates from a Pennsylvania school, making the subject the 3rd in the state.

Today's teaching students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

The Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania ranking is one of many tools that Teaching Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 11 schools in Pennsylvania to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best value experiences for special ed students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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 Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for special ed majors pursuing a graduate certificate.

Top 10 Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools

Our 2023 rankings named West Chester University of Pennsylvania the best value school in Pennsylvania for special education students working on their graduate certificate. WCUPA is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of West Chester.

WCUPA graduate students pay an average of $11,898 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, WCUPA is ranked #3 for overall quality for special ed in Pennsylvania.

Full Special Education at West Chester University of Pennsylvania Report

Out of the 11 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Clarion University of Pennsylvania landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the town of Clarion, Clarion University is a public college with a small student population.

Clarion University graduate students pay an average of $12,179 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the fringe town of Edinboro, Edinboro is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Edinboro are $12,246 a year.

Full Special Education at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Report

#4

Marywood University

Scranton, PA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Marywood University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the small city of Scranton, Marywood is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Marywood are $11,438 per year.

Full Special Education at Marywood University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the suburb of California, Cal U is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal U are $12,919 per year.

Read full report on Special Education at California University of Pennsylvania

Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Located in the town of Indiana, IUP is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

IUP graduate students pay an average of $12,618 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Special Education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus Report

#7

Cedar Crest College

Allentown, PA

Cedar Crest College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for special education students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Allentown, Cedar Crest is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cedar Crest are $14,719 per year.

Read More…

#8

Carlow University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carlow University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for special education students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carlow is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Carlow are $20,812 per year.

Read More…

University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Pitt is a public school with a very large student population.

Pitt graduate students pay an average of $25,248 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Graduate Certificate, special ed majors at Pitt accumulate an average of around $23,310 in student debt.

Read full report on Special Education at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

#10

Arcadia University

Glenside, PA

Arcadia University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate special education programs. Located in the large suburb of Glenside, Arcadia is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Arcadia are $27,530 per year.

Read full report on Special Education at Arcadia University

Best Value Special Education Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Value Special Education Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New Jersey 799
New York 4,329
Maryland 416
District of Columbia 101
Delaware 165

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 11 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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