Best Special Education and Teaching colleges in Los Angeles 2025

Chapman is a private research institution in Orange established in 1861. Special education teaching students can choose from undergraduate programs in Integrated Educational Studies and a five-year combined BA/MA program. Learners in the graduate program can pursue an MA in Special Education.  Undergraduate and graduate tuition at Chapman is $1,810/credit and $1,065/credit, respectively. Alumni include actor Colin Hanks and comedian Leslie Jones.

ULV is a private institution founded in 1891. Today, the school serves approximately 7,000 students and offers an MA in Teaching with a Mild/Moderate Specialist Preliminary Credential. Ambitious learners can also complete its dual credential option to earn the Special Education credential and its Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. Tuition for this program is $775/credit.

Cal State LA was established in 1947 and serves about 26,400 students. In the Division of Special Education and Counseling, undergraduate Cal State LA students can earn a BS in Rehabilitation Services or a BA in Urban Learning with an Education Specialist/Special Education credential. The graduate program features an MA with 11 available concentrations and a Ph.D. in Special Education program. Notable alumni include politicians Rosario Marin and Maxine Waters.

LMU is a private Jesuit school in Los Angeles. Learners can pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies with an Education Specialist Preliminary Credential. There is also a MA in Special Education with a California Preliminary Mild/Moderate Education Specialist credential. LMU’s School of Education offers excellent internal scholarship opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate degree-seekers. Undergraduate and graduate tuition for the year is about $53,067 and $16,836, respectively.

A public research institution with approximately 46,000 students, UCLA offers a Ph.D. program in Special Education. UCLA offers this program in partnership with California State University-Los Angeles. Incoming students without a master’s degree must take the doctoral screening examination. Degree-seekers must complete a traditional dissertation and pass oral and written defenses to graduate. Tuition and fees for graduate students is about $17,756 (residents) or $32,858 (nonresidents) per year.