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Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

11 Colleges
$18,062 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$49,862 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Special Education Graduate Certificate School for You

In 2020-2021, 1,024 degrees and certificates were awarded to special education students who went to a Pennsylvania college or university. This makes it the #14 most popular major in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 11 schools in Pennsylvania to see which ones offered the best value graduate certificate programs for special ed students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

Check out the special ed graduate certificate programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools

Our analysis found West Chester University of Pennsylvania to be the best value school for special education students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in Pennsylvania. Located in the suburb of West Chester, WCUPA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

WCUPA graduate students pay an average of $11,898 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Clarion University of Pennsylvania is a great value for special education students working on their graduate certificate. Clarion University is a small public school located in the town of Clarion.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Clarion University are $12,179 a year.

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The excellent graduate certificate programs at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value special education schools in Pennsylvania. Edinboro is a small public school located in the town of Edinboro.

Edinboro graduate students pay an average of $12,246 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Special Education at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

#4

Marywood University

Scranton, PA

Out of the 11 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Marywood University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Marywood is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Scranton.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Marywood are $11,438 per year.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Cal U is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of California.

Cal U graduate students pay an average of $12,919 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Special Education at California University of Pennsylvania

Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. IUP is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Indiana.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at IUP are $12,618 a year.

Read full report on Special Education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus

#7

Cedar Crest College

Allentown, PA

Cedar Crest College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate special education programs. Cedar Crest is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Allentown.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cedar Crest are $14,719 a year.

Full Special Education at Cedar Crest College Report

#8

Carlow University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carlow University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for special education students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #8 on the list. Carlow is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.

Carlow graduate students pay an average of $20,812 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Special Education at Carlow University

University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for special education students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Pitt is a very large public school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

Pitt graduate students pay an average of $25,248 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Graduate Certificate, special ed majors at Pitt accumulate an average of around $23,310 in student debt.

Full Special Education at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Report

#10

Arcadia University

Glenside, PA

With a ranking of #10, Arcadia University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students working on their graduate certificate. Arcadia is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Glenside.

Arcadia graduate students pay an average of $27,530 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Special Education at Arcadia University 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
New York 3,568
Maryland 224
New Jersey 660
District of Columbia 101
Delaware 155

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

Majors Similar to Special Ed

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 11 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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