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Most Popular Special Education Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Special Education Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

28 Colleges
$49,761 Avg Salary

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

Out of the majors we analyze each year, special education was ranked 4th in Illinois. In fact, 1,153 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which teaching program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Teaching Degree Search has created the Most Popular Special Education Master's Degree Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 28 schools in Illinois to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs for teaching students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Special Education program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Special Education Master's Degree Colleges.

Our analysis found National Louis University to be the most popular school for special education students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Illinois. Located in the large city of Chicago, NLU is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 76% of the special ed majors at the school.

Read More…

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Illinois at Chicago is a great place for special education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public college with a very large student population.

Women make up 87% of the special ed majors at the school.

Read full report on Special Education at University of Illinois at Chicago

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 60 students majoring in special ed at NIU, 13% are male and 87% are female.

Read full report on Special Education at Northern Illinois University

#4

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

About 78% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 22% are male.

Read More…

#5

Aurora University

Aurora, IL

The in-demand master’s degree programs at Aurora University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular special education schools in Illinois. Located in the suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

About 74% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 26% are male.

Full Special Education at Aurora University Report

#6

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

With a ranking of #6, Concordia University, Chicago did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for special education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

About 84% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 16% are male.

Full Special Education at Concordia University, Chicago Report

#7

Dominican University

River Forest, IL

Dominican University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for special education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Dominican U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of River Forest.

Of the 26 students majoring in special ed at Dominican U, 19% are male and 81% are female.

Read full report on Special Education at Dominican University

With a ranking of #8, Illinois State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for special education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a very large student population.

About 91% of the students majoring in special ed at the school are women while 9% are male.

Full Special Education at Illinois State University Report

Northeastern Illinois University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree special education programs. Located in the large city of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 86% of the special ed majors at the school.

Read full report on Special Education at Northeastern Illinois University

With a ranking of #10, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for special education students working on their master’s degree. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.

Of the 20 students majoring in special ed at UIUC, 5% are male and 95% are female.

Full Special Education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

Best Special Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Special Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Ohio 1,329
Indiana 2,282
Michigan 607
Wisconsin 598

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 28 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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