Special Ed

Types of Degrees Special Ed Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many special education graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	19,631
Graduate Certificate	3,743
Doctor’s Degree	216

What Special Ed Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to special ed were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Special Ed Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Special Ed Majors

When studying special ed, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Special Ed Majors

As a special ed major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Special Ed Major?

People with a special ed degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Adapted Physical Education Specialists	9.9%	$56,680
Interpreters and Translators	17.7%	$49,930
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School	7.4%	$59,390
Special Education Teachers, Middle School	7.2%	$60,250
Special Education Teachers, Preschool	11.3%	$55,840
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School	7.4%	$60,600

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Special Ed?

This is one of the most frequently chosen graduate majors. It is the 8th most popular in the country with 21,759 students graduating with a master’s in special ed in 2021. The major attracts more women than men. About 86% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of special ed majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	584
Black or African American	1,918
Hispanic or Latino	2,895
White	12,460
International Students	211
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,563

Geographic Diversity

Special Ed appeals to people across the globe. About 1.1% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Special Ed

Some careers associated with special ed require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for special ed careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.1%
Some College Courses	0.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	52.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	13.8%
Master’s Degree	27.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.2%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.5%
Doctoral Degree	1.0%

Online Special Ed Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	55	8
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	1
Associate’s Degree	100	7
Bachelor’s Degree	475	198
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	952	256
Post-Master’s	154	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	81	4
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	2	1

Majors Related to Special Ed

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to special ed.

Major	Number of Grads
Teacher Education Grade Specific	106,652
Educational Administration	43,921
Teacher Education Subject Specific	40,101
General Education	27,845
Curriculum & Instruction	20,472
Student Counseling	14,512
Instructional Media Design	8,912
Teaching English or French	5,030
Other Education	4,693
Educational Assessment	4,249
Teaching Assistants	2,942
Multilingual Education	1,654
Education Philosophy	959
International Education	317

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By woodleywonderworks under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.