Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

20 Colleges
$20,928 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$49,862 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Special Education Graduate Certificate School for You

With 25,158 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, special education is the #10 most popular major in the United States.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region 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.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

Viterbo University

La Crosse, WI

Our analysis found Viterbo University to be the best value school for special education students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the Great Lakes Region . Viterbo is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of La Crosse.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Viterbo are $9,488 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Viterbo is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Special Education at Viterbo University

Out of the 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a very large student population.

Illinois State graduate students pay an average of $11,773 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#3

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Olivet Nazarene University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Olivet Nazarene are $12,190 a year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Olivet Nazarene also did well on our Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Baldwin Wallace University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the suburb of Berea, Baldwin Wallace College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Baldwin Wallace College graduate students pay an average of $11,363 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Special Education at Baldwin Wallace University Report

#5

Alverno College

Milwaukee, WI

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Alverno College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Alverno is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Milwaukee.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Alverno are $10,402 a year.

Read full report on Special Education at Alverno College

#6

Mount St. Joseph University

Cincinnati, OH

With a ranking of #6, Mount St. Joseph University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students working on their graduate certificate. Mount St. Joe is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Cincinnati.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Mount St. Joe are $13,700 a year.

Read More…

#7

University of Dayton

Dayton, OH

University of Dayton came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UDayton is a large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Dayton.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UDayton are $18,140 per year.

Read More…

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UW - Eau Claire is a large public school located in the small city of Eau Claire.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UW - Eau Claire are $19,434 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Eau Claire also is in the top 15% of our Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Full Special Education at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Report

Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate special education programs. IWU is a large private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Marion.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at IWU are $10,440 per year.

Read More…

Loyola University Chicago came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Loyola Chicago graduate students pay an average of $19,894 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Special Education at Loyola University Chicago

Best Special Education Colleges by State

Explore the best special education colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 287
Illinois 631
Ohio 484
Indiana 2,044
Wisconsin 288

One of 14 majors within the area of study, special education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Educational Administration 45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific 34,451
General Education 21,189
Teacher Education Subject Specific 20,616
Curriculum & Instruction 19,784

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 20 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.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.