Special Education · Kansas
Kansas colleges that awarded Special Education credentials
11 colleges in Kansas reported conferring Special Education credentials to the federal IPEDS collection in 2024-25, and every one of them also awarded in the year before. 10 awarded a degree, and 1 awarded only a certificate. That is a record of credentials already awarded, not confirmation that a program is currently admitting.
Quick answers
- How much do Special Education graduates of Kansas master's programs earn?
- Graduates of the typical Kansas master's program in Special Education earned a median $58,781 four years after graduating, 9% below the $64,397 national median for the same credential (4 programs, College Scorecard, 2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23).
- Which Special Education programs in Kansas have the highest graduate earnings?
- Among 4 Kansas master's programs in Special Education, Fort Hays State University graduates had the highest median, $60,958 four years after graduating (College Scorecard, 2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23).
Colleges and what they awarded
Largest first by credentials conferred in 2024-25. That order measures the size of the graduating class and nothing else: it is not a ranking, and the largest entry is often a certificate provider rather than the strongest degree program. The credential is labelled on every row for exactly that reason.
| College | Credentials awarded | Highest level |
|---|---|---|
| University of Kansas | 136 | Degree |
| Fort Hays State University | 116 | Degree |
| Emporia State University | 72 | Degree |
| Wichita State University | 52 | Degree |
| Pittsburg State University | 18 | Degree |
| Kansas State University | 12 | Degree |
| Benedictine College | 8 | Degree |
| Friends University | 7 | Degree |
| Washburn University | 6 | Degree |
| Butler Community College | 2 | Degree |
| Colby Community College | 2 | Certificate only |
Which Special Education programs in Kansas have the highest graduate earnings?
Among 4 Kansas master's programs in Special Education with federal earnings data, Fort Hays State University graduates earn the highest median, $60,958 four years after graduating, with a median federal debt of $27,127. University of Kansas follows at $59,173. The national median for master's graduates in the same program is $64,397. (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard.)
Compare these programs and share the results
Master's programs · 4 with earnings data · national median $64,397
| College | Median earnings, 4 yrs after | 1 yr after (later class) | Debt borrowed at this college (median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Hays State University | $60,958 | $53,586 | $27,127 |
| University of Kansas | $59,173 | $58,196 | $29,867 |
| Emporia State University | $58,389 | $53,927 | $12,963 |
| Pittsburg State University | $56,317 | $52,368 | $22,743 |
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Ordered by median earnings four years after graduating: one federal measure, not a ranking of program quality. Federal program group: Special Education and Teaching. Earnings: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars. The one-year column is a later class (graduates of 2018-19 and 2019-20, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars), so it is not the same graduates' pay a few years earlier. Only programs with at least 30 graduates in the earnings cohort are listed. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education. Earnings reflect who enrolls and where graduates live as well as the program itself. Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, 10 June 2026. How much the college matters, by major.
How much of this field is in Kansas
- Credentials awarded
- 431
- Share of U.S. total
- 1.2%
- Colleges awarding it
- 11
- Awarding a degree
- 10
Kansas colleges conferred 431 Special Education credentials in 2024-25, which is 1.2% of the 35,046 conferred across the 51 U.S. jurisdictions reporting any. Of the 11 colleges here, 10 awarded a degree and 1 awarded only a certificate. These counts measure the size of graduating classes, not program quality, and not how many students are currently enrolled.
What level those credentials were
- Certificates: <1%, 2 credentials.
- Associate: <1%, 2 credentials.
- Bachelor's: 2%, 8 credentials.
- Graduate: 97%, 419 credentials.
Most Special Education credentials awarded in Kansas were graduate degrees. That is 27 percentage points more weighted toward graduate degrees than the field nationally, where they are 70% of credentials. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and the level a program awards is set by the program rather than by the student.
We measured how much this varies nationwide, and for most fields the credential level is set by the field rather than the state: is your major a certificate or a degree?
How concentrated it is. The single college with the largest reported graduating class in this field accounted for 32% of Kansas’s Special Education credentials. Activity is spread across several institutions rather than sitting with one.
What these Kansas colleges cost
Median net price across the 11 of these 11 colleges that report it, by family income. Net price is what students receiving federal aid actually paid for the WHOLE college after grants and scholarships, so it is not the price of a Special Education program specifically, and not a quote for any family.
- 0-30k
- $10,908
- 30-48k
- $11,964
- 48-75k
- $15,438
- 75-110k
- $19,282
- 110k+
- $19,715
A family earning under $30,000 paid a median of $10,908 at these colleges, against $19,715 for a family earning over $110,000. Individual colleges vary widely around these medians. See every Kansas college by income band.
What this evidence does and does not prove
This lists colleges that reported conferring credentials in this field to the federal IPEDS completions collection, in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. It does not confirm that any of them is currently admitting students to the program, and a college can appear here after deciding to close it. Confirm with the institution before it affects where you apply.
How this list was built
From the U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions collection, matched to each college on its exact federal program classification. A college appears only if it conferred credentials in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, which is what separates a running program from one that has already closed.
This page exists because its list of colleges is materially different from that of every closely related field in Kansas — the fields a reader could otherwise mistake it for, such as two engineering disciplines, or nursing and practical nursing. Where a related field resolves to the same colleges, the second page would be the first one with its title changed, and CampusPin does not publish it. Sharing colleges with an unrelated field is different, and not a reason to withhold the page: in most states the same colleges award business, psychology and biology alike, which says something about the colleges rather than about the fields. We measured exactly how often that happens, and published the result: does choosing a major narrow your college list?
What Special Education graduates go on to do
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Special Education, ordered by projected annual openings. National figures: openings and pay do not vary by where you studied, and the crosswalk describes related fields rather than a required or guaranteed path.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | $69,590 | 11,100 | Bachelor's degree |
| Special Education Teachers, Middle School | $64,880 | 6,300 | Bachelor's degree |
| Special Education Teachers, All Other | $67,430 | 2,900 | Bachelor's degree |
| Special Education Teachers, Preschool | $62,190 | 2,100 | Bachelor's degree |
| Special Education Teachers, Elementary School | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
| Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
| Teaching Assistants, Special Education | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). “Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already in the occupation, not a legal requirement, an admission rule, or a guarantee of entry. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Questions about Special Education in Kansas
- How many colleges in Kansas awarded Special Education credentials?
- 11 colleges in Kansas reported conferring Special Education credentials to the federal IPEDS completions collection in 2024-25, 10 of them a degree rather than only a certificate. Together they awarded 431 credentials in the fields covered.
- Which Special Education programs in Kansas have the highest graduate earnings?
- Among 4 Kansas master's programs in Special Education with federal earnings data, Fort Hays State University graduates earn the highest median, $60,958 four years after graduating, with a median federal debt of $27,127. University of Kansas follows at $59,173. The national median for master's graduates in the same program is $64,397. (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard.)
- Does this mean these colleges currently offer Special Education?
- Not necessarily. Completions record credentials already awarded, so they confirm a program ran and graduated students. They do not confirm it is still admitting. Every college here also awarded in the prior year, which makes a closed program less likely, but confirm directly with the institution before it affects where you apply.
- Is a college missing from this list?
- Possibly. A new program with no graduates yet does not appear, and CampusPin matches the federal classification exactly rather than guessing, so a college filing under a neighbouring code is absent. Absence is never evidence a program does not exist.