Best Special Education Teacher, Middle School programs in Pennsylvania, ranked by enrollment
Teach academic, social, and life skills to middle school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities.
55 schools in Pennsylvania run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,295 people a year. The job pays a median of $77,040 in Pennsylvania across about 3,710 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
7 programs in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Pennsylvania (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Pennsylvania page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 13.1001In Pennsylvania → | 1,206 | 93.1% | 53 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 2 | CIP 13.1013In Pennsylvania → | 50 | 3.9% | 8 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 3 | CIP 13.1009In Pennsylvania → | 22 | 1.7% | 1 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 4 | CIP 13.1005In Pennsylvania → | 11 | 0.8% | 3 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 5 | CIP 13.1011In Pennsylvania → | 3 | 0.2% | 1 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 6 | CIP 13.1018In Pennsylvania → | 2 | 0.2% | 2 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 7 | CIP 13.1003In Pennsylvania → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
Top 25 schools in Pennsylvania
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 16 of the 55 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 196 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $43,480 | 66% | — | 71% |
| 2 | Pennsylvania Western University California, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 96 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $40,012 | 52% | — | 94% |
| 3 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA Public · 3 feeder programs | 94 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 71% | — | 78% |
| 4 | Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 84 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $50,159 | 54% | — | 93% |
| 5 | Holy Family University Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 71 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 61% | $12,163 | 71% |
| 6 | Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 66 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $50,698 | 79% | $34,418 | 89% |
| 7 | Arcadia University Glenside, PA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 64 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 67% | $23,796 | 80% |
| 8 | Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millersville, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 54 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $51,664 | 58% | — | 86% |
| 9 | Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 53 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $50,645 | 54% | — | 91% |
| 10 | Wilson College Chambersburg, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 51 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 48% | $18,586 | 92% |
| 11 | Pennsylvania State University - World Campus University Park, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 48 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $71,293 | 34% | — | 91% |
| 12 | Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $71,293 | 86% | — | 61% |
| 13 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 33 | Education/Teaching of Individuals with Vision Impairments Including Blindness | — | 85% | — | 58% |
| 14 | East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 30 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $50,327 | 43% | — | 92% |
| 15 | Temple University Philadelphia, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 75% | — | 80% |
| 16 | Eastern University Saint Davids, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 54% | $25,146 | 91% |
| 17 | Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 88% | $26,912 | 26% |
| 18 | King's College Wilkes-Barre, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 60% | $22,131 | 93% |
| 19 | DeSales University Center Valley, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 72% | $26,990 | 77% |
| 20 | Gwynedd Mercy University Gwynedd Valley, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 57% | $25,843 | 90% |
| 21 | Grove City College Grove City, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 83% | — | 72% |
| 22 | Gannon University Erie, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 66% | $21,409 | 74% |
| 23 | Drexel University Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 78% | $36,004 | 79% |
| 24 | Mercyhurst University Erie, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $46,636 | 60% | $25,987 | 81% |
| 25 | Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $44,121 | 56% | — | 91% |
All 55 schools in Pennsylvania
Every school in Pennsylvania with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania | Slippery Rock | Public | 196 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania Western University | California | Public | 96 | 2 |
| West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester | Public | 94 | 3 |
| Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania | Bloomsburg | Public | 84 | 1 |
| Holy Family University | Philadelphia | Private not-for-profit | 71 | 1 |
| Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia | Philadelphia | Private not-for-profit | 66 | 4 |
| Arcadia University | Glenside | Private not-for-profit | 64 | 3 |
| Millersville University of Pennsylvania | Millersville | Public | 54 | 1 |
| Kutztown University of Pennsylvania | Kutztown | Public | 53 | 1 |
| Wilson College | Chambersburg | Private not-for-profit | 51 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania State University - World Campus | University Park | Public | 48 | 2 |
| Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus | University Park | Public | 34 | 1 |
| University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh | Public | 33 | 2 |
| East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania | East Stroudsburg | Public | 30 | 2 |
| Temple University | Philadelphia | Public | 28 | 1 |
What special education teachers, middle school earn in Pennsylvania
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $66,810. Pennsylvania pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Pennsylvania
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Special Education Teachers, Middle School page.
How to become a Special Education Teacher, Middle School
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Pennsylvania
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 13 majors mapped to Special Education Teachers, Middle School13 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.1001Special Education and Teaching, General
- 13.1003Education/Teaching of Individuals with Hearing Impairments Including Deafness
- 13.1005Education/Teaching of Individuals with Emotional Disturbances
- 13.1006Education/Teaching of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
- 13.1007Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities
- 13.1008Education/Teaching of Individuals with Orthopedic and Other Physical Health Impairments
- 13.1009Education/Teaching of Individuals with Vision Impairments Including Blindness
- 13.1011Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities
- 13.1012Education/Teaching of Individuals with Speech or Language Impairments
- 13.1013Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism
- 13.1014Education/Teaching of Individuals Who are Developmentally Delayed
- 13.1016Education/Teaching of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries
- 13.1018Education/Teaching of Individuals in Junior High/Middle School Special Education Programs
Common questions
Answers for people weighing special education teachers, middle school programs in Pennsylvania.
What degree do you need to become a Special Education Teacher, Middle School?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Special Education and Teaching, General, which awarded 1,206 degrees in Pennsylvania in 2024-25, 93.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Special Education Teacher, Middle School?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Special Education and Teaching. Together they graduate about 1,295 people a year in Pennsylvania.
How much do special education teachers, middle school earn in Pennsylvania?+
The median is $77,040 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 15.3% above the U.S. median of $66,810. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for special education teachers, middle school growing?+
BLS projects a -1.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 6,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Pennsylvania?+
55 institutions in Pennsylvania reported graduates from at least one of the 7 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do special education teachers, middle school work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Intervention Specialist, Special Education Teacher (SPED Teacher), Middle School Special Education Teacher (MS SPED Teacher), SPED Resource Teacher (Special Education Resource Teacher) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-2057.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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