Federal data
Highest earning master's special education programs in California
California special education programs, ranked by median earnings one year after completion, from the College Scorecard field-of-study file (September 18, 2026). Only programs with at least 30 counted graduates in the earnings sample are shown, and at least 5 programs must qualify for this list to exist.
| Rank | School | City | Sector | Median earnings, 1 year after | Graduates counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University-Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public, 4-year | $83,983 | 104 |
| 2 | California State University-Fullerton | Fullerton | Public, 4-year | $79,384 | 78 |
| 3 | California State University-Long Beach | Long Beach | Public, 4-year | $77,631 | 37 |
| 4 | California State University-East Bay | Hayward | Public, 4-year | $77,402 | 30 |
| 5 | Point Loma Nazarene University | San Diego | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $73,427 | 37 |
| 6 | National University | San Diego | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $70,672 | 479 |
| 7 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco | Public, 4-year | $69,592 | 53 |
| 8 | California Lutheran University | Thousand Oaks | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $68,342 | 30 |
| 9 | Alliant International University-San Diego | San Diego | For-profit, 4-year | $63,647 | 105 |
| 10 | University of Redlands | Redlands | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $63,411 | 62 |
| 11 | Ashford University | San Diego | For-profit, 4-year | $41,048 | 178 |
Earnings cover federally aided graduates only, as published by College Scorecard.
How to read this. A smaller program can show a high or low figure from just a few graduates, and this earnings figure only ever covers students who received federal aid, so it does not describe every graduate.
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