Special Education

Types of Degrees Special Education Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many special education graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	21,797
Graduate Certificate	3,157
Doctor’s Degree	204

What Special Education Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to special ed and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Special Ed Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in special ed should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• 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

A major in special ed will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• 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 Education Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with special ed:

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 Education?

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 85% 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	620
Black or African American	2,185
Hispanic or Latino	2,919
White	14,000
International Students	200
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,873

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Special Ed. About 0.9% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Saudi Arabia
• China
• South Korea
• Canada
• India

How Much Do Special Education Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in special education made a median starting salary of $48,941 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $45,291 (25th percentile) and $53,653 (75th percentile).

It is possible that some of these people may have taken positions that were not related to special ed.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $61,610 to $64,390 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to special ed. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Special Education

Some degrees associated with special ed may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to special ed have obtained the following education levels.

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 Education Programs

In 2020-2021, 994 schools offered a special ed program of some type. 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)	59	5
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	0
Associate’s Degree	94	6
Bachelor’s Degree	432	135
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	945	212
Post-Master’s	157	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	83	3
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	1

Is a Degree in Special Education Worth It?

The median salary for a special ed grad is $62,500 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 57% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $452,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Special Education

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

Major	Number of Grads
Educational Administration	45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific	34,451
General Education	21,189
Teacher Education Subject Specific	20,616
Curriculum & Instruction	19,784
Student Counseling	13,840
Instructional Media Design	8,387
Teaching English or French	4,743
Other Education	2,513
Multilingual Education	1,672
Educational Assessment	1,215
Education Philosophy	421
International Education	257
Teaching Assistants	20

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.