{
  "major": "Special Education",
  "slug": "special-education",
  "field": "Social Sciences & Humanities",
  "as_of": "2026",
  "url": "https://collegeranked.com/best-special-education-schools/",
  "source": "U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2026 release); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics",
  "metric_definitions": {
    "median_earnings": "Median earnings one year after graduation (Scorecard)",
    "net_price": "Average annual cost of attendance after grant aid. For PUBLIC schools this reflects IN-STATE cost; out-of-state students pay more.",
    "roi_10yr_usd": "Ten years of earnings minus four years of net price",
    "public": "true = public university (net_price is in-state basis); false = private (residency-neutral)"
  },
  "total_colleges_with_reported_data": 168,
  "shown": 25,
  "ranking": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "school": "Florida Atlantic University",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 56009,
      "net_price": 8752,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 525082,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "school": "Texas A & M International University",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 47820,
      "net_price": 3637,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 463652,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "school": "University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign",
      "state": "IL",
      "median_earnings": 51922,
      "net_price": 14355,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 461800,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "school": "University of Hawaii at Manoa",
      "state": "HI",
      "median_earnings": 60396,
      "net_price": 15664,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 541304,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "school": "Miami Dade College",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 53935,
      "net_price": 5463,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 517498,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 6,
      "school": "Rhode Island College",
      "state": "RI",
      "median_earnings": 50060,
      "net_price": 9478,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 462688,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 7,
      "school": "University of South Florida",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 50975,
      "net_price": 9812,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 470502,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 8,
      "school": "University of Nevada-Las Vegas",
      "state": "NV",
      "median_earnings": 49827,
      "net_price": 10359,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 456834,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 9,
      "school": "Utah Valley University",
      "state": "UT",
      "median_earnings": 50647,
      "net_price": 6376,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 480966,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 10,
      "school": "Kean University",
      "state": "NJ",
      "median_earnings": 48628,
      "net_price": 12447,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 436492,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 11,
      "school": "Utah State University",
      "state": "UT",
      "median_earnings": 61474,
      "net_price": 14936,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 554996,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 12,
      "school": "Western Washington University",
      "state": "WA",
      "median_earnings": 52912,
      "net_price": 21193,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 444348,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 13,
      "school": "CUNY Medgar Evers College",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 49413,
      "net_price": 5718,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 471258,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 14,
      "school": "Indiana University-Bloomington",
      "state": "IN",
      "median_earnings": 51306,
      "net_price": 16264,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 448004,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 15,
      "school": "University of North Florida",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 47734,
      "net_price": 10154,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 436724,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 16,
      "school": "Towson University",
      "state": "MD",
      "median_earnings": 53331,
      "net_price": 17413,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 463658,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 17,
      "school": "Florida Gulf Coast University",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 46866,
      "net_price": 12568,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 418388,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 18,
      "school": "Northern Illinois University",
      "state": "IL",
      "median_earnings": 46578,
      "net_price": 13391,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 412216,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 19,
      "school": "Nevada State University",
      "state": "NV",
      "median_earnings": 53159,
      "net_price": 14068,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 475318,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 20,
      "school": "Bridgewater State University",
      "state": "MA",
      "median_earnings": 50061,
      "net_price": 16383,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 435078,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 21,
      "school": "East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania",
      "state": "PA",
      "median_earnings": 50327,
      "net_price": 18134,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 430734,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 22,
      "school": "Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania",
      "state": "PA",
      "median_earnings": 50159,
      "net_price": 15699,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 438794,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 23,
      "school": "Arizona State University Campus Immersion",
      "state": "AZ",
      "median_earnings": 49882,
      "net_price": 14967,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 438952,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 24,
      "school": "Broward College",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 49262,
      "net_price": 14506,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 434596,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 25,
      "school": "University of Central Florida",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 48147,
      "net_price": 10411,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 439826,
      "public": true
    }
  ]
}