Western Michigan University Special Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Special Education and Teaching
- Public university
- Kalamazoo, MI
- About 19 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Western Michigan University special education graduates earn about what special education graduates earn nationally, $47,868 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $31,000 in federal loans, more than at 95% of special education programs in the country. Two other Michigan programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Michigan and national columns are the medians across all special education bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Western Michigan University graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the Michigan median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan special education program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Michigan medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 4% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $329 a month, or 8.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
96% of graduates (24 of 25) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the Kalamazoo area are about 5% below the national average, so a $47,868 salary here buys what about $50,472 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to special education, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
$78,050Median pay in Michigan. 2,570 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Special Education Teachers, Middle School
$76,040Median pay in Michigan. 1,410 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Interpreters and Translators
$45,310Median pay in Michigan. 940 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Special Education Teachers, Preschool
$75,860Median pay in Michigan. 430 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Western Michigan University
Special Education ranks 18th of 50 bachelor's programs at Western Michigan University by first-year earnings. The top three are Paper Science and Engineering ($86,401), Electrical Engineering ($76,145), and Nursing ($75,149).
Other special education bachelor's programs near Kalamazoo
Common questions
The median graduate earns $47,868 one year after graduating and $49,952 five years after. The median across special education bachelor's programs in Michigan is $45,340.
The median federal loan balance is $31,000, which ranks 4th lowest of 7 special education bachelor's programs in Michigan. That works out to about $329 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 65% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 58%. Compare the cost with other Michigan programs before deciding.
Most do. 96% (24 of 25) were working in Michigan one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Michigan comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the special education program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024