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Best Value Special Education Schools in New Jersey

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2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in New Jersey

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

19 Colleges
$26,994 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$56,474 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Special Education School for You

Special Education is one of the most popular subjects to study in New Jersey. With 799 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 3rd out of all the majors we track in the state.

Today's teaching students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

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 Schools in New Jersey ranking. This report analyzed 19 schools in New Jersey 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 New Jersey

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

$17,287 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found The College of New Jersey to be the best value school for special education students who want to pursue a degree in New Jersey. Located in the large suburb of Ewing, TCNJ is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

TCNJ undergraduate students pay an average of $17,287 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, special ed majors at TCNJ accumulate an average of around $26,458 in student debt.

TCNJ also took the #1 spot in our Best Special Education Schools in New Jersey rankings.

Read More…

#2

Montclair State University

Montclair, NJ
$13,298 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Montclair State University is a great value for special education students. Located in the large suburb of Montclair, Montclair State is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Montclair State are $13,298 a year.

Full Special Education at Montclair State University Report

$14,208 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend William Paterson University of New Jersey. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in New Jersey list. William Paterson University is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Wayne.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at William Paterson University are $14,208 a year.

Full Special Education at William Paterson University of New Jersey Report

#3

Kean University

Union, NJ
$12,595 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Kean University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in New Jersey list. Located in the large suburb of Union, Kean is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Kean are $12,595 a year. On average, special ed graduates from Kean take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $264.

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$38,074 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Schools in New Jersey list. Located in the suburb of Teaneck, FDU is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at FDU are $38,074 per year.

Full Special Education at Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus Report

#6

Rowan University

Glassboro, NJ
$14,376 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, Rowan University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students. Rowan is a large public school located in the suburb of Glassboro.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Rowan are $14,376 a year.

Read full report on Special Education at Rowan University

#7

Centenary University

Hackettstown, NJ
$34,498 Average Tuition & Fees

Centenary University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value special education programs. Centenary is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Hackettstown.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Centenary are $34,498 a year. The average amount in student loans that special ed majors at Centenary take out is $19,962.

Centenary did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Special Education Schools in New Jersey list.

Full Special Education at Centenary University Report

#8

Rider University

Lawrenceville, NJ
$35,850 Average Tuition & Fees

Rider University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value special education programs. Located in the suburb of Lawrenceville, Rider is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Rider undergraduate students pay an average of $35,850 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Rider not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Special Education Schools in New Jersey list.

Full Special Education at Rider University Report

$5,550 Average Tuition & Fees

Rowan College of South Jersey Gloucester Campus ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Schools in New Jersey list. Located in the suburb of Sewell, RCSJ is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at RCSJ are $5,550 per year.

Read More…

$15,804 Average Tuition & Fees

Rutgers University - New Brunswick did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for special education students. It came in at #10 on the list. Rutgers New Brunswick is a very large public school located in the city of New Brunswick.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Rutgers New Brunswick are $15,804 per year.

Full Special Education at Rutgers University - New Brunswick Report

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
Pennsylvania 1,854
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 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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