Federal data
Highest earning master's special education programs in the United States
U.S. 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 | Pace University | New York | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $79,259 | 191 |
| 4 | CUNY Brooklyn College | Brooklyn | Public, 4-year | $77,678 | 232 |
| 5 | California State University-Long Beach | Long Beach | Public, 4-year | $77,631 | 37 |
| 6 | California State University-East Bay | Hayward | Public, 4-year | $77,402 | 30 |
| 7 | CUNY Hunter College | New York | Public, 4-year | $77,182 | 355 |
| 8 | CUNY City College | New York | Public, 4-year | $76,836 | 48 |
| 9 | Manhattan University | Riverdale | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $76,455 | 39 |
| 10 | Hofstra University | Hempstead | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $76,264 | 41 |
| 11 | Long Island University | Brookville | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $75,868 | 219 |
| 12 | CUNY Lehman College | Bronx | Public, 4-year | $75,783 | 80 |
| 13 | St. John's University-New York | Queens | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $75,441 | 136 |
| 14 | College of Staten Island CUNY | Staten Island | Public, 4-year | $75,212 | 57 |
| 15 | CUNY Queens College | Queens | Public, 4-year | $74,496 | 78 |
| 16 | University of Washington | Seattle | Public, 4-year | $73,549 | 32 |
| 17 | Point Loma Nazarene University | San Diego | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $73,427 | 37 |
| 18 | University of Illinois Chicago | Chicago | Public, 4-year | $73,322 | 60 |
| 19 | Fordham University | Bronx | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $71,684 | 60 |
| 20 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | Honolulu | Public, 4-year | $71,255 | 55 |
| 21 | National University | San Diego | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $70,672 | 479 |
| 22 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco | Public, 4-year | $69,592 | 53 |
| 23 | Northeastern Illinois University | Chicago | Public, 4-year | $69,073 | 38 |
| 24 | Teachers College at Columbia University | New York | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $69,049 | 36 |
| 25 | George Washington University | Washington | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $68,902 | 65 |
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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