Best Master's in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Education Programs in 2026
All 3 programs reviewed from the IPEDS database, ranked on degrees awarded and local teacher pay. CIP 13.1005.
- Most master's programs run 30 to 36 credits and take about two years, with many built to be completed part-time by working teachers.
- 2 of 3 ranked programs offer an online or hybrid option.
- Graduate programs are ranked on degrees awarded, cost-of-living-adjusted local pay, and institutional standing, not the undergraduate stats that do not describe a master's.
- 1
Concordia University-Saint Paul
40score- 8Master's/yr
- $79,730Metro teacher pay
- Special Education with an Emphasis in Emotional Behavioral Disorders (MA)
- Higher Learning Commission-accredited
- Online
About the programConcordia University-Saint Paul offers a Master of Arts in Special Education with an emphasis in Emotional Behavioral Disorders, built specifically for practicing Minnesota teachers rather than newcomers to the classroom. Admission requires a valid Minnesota Tier 3 or Tier 4 teaching license, and the 33-credit track moves candidates toward a Minnesota EBD teaching endorsement, with a leaner 27-credit licensure-only option for those who do not need the full degree. Instruction follows a cohort model that blends weekly synchronous audio-videoconferencing with asynchronous discussion boards, so a working teacher can keep pace alongside peers while balancing a job. An applied EBD practicum and a capstone research project connect theory to real students with emotional and behavioral needs. Concordia University-Saint Paul is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It reads as a focused, licensure-driven step for Minnesota educators specializing in one of the field's most demanding areas. As a master's degree in emotional and behavioral disorders education, it adds to the master's-level emotional and behavioral disorders education options in Minnesota.
Why it ranks hereSchool siteMaster's programs are judged differently here. Undergraduate stats do not apply, so the ranking looks at whether the program is established, the pay its graduates walk into locally, and how the university stands behind it. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 8 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort. Its graduates step into Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, where elementary teachers earn a median $79,730, roughly $76,062 once local cost of living is factored in, a real-world read on what the credential is worth in that market.
Area teacher pay: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025, adjusted for local cost of living via U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities. A location figure, not this program's graduate earnings.
- 2
University of St Thomas
37score- 4Master's/yr
- $79,730Metro teacher pay
- MA in Teaching Special Education – Emotional Behavioral Disorders (Initial or Additional Licensure)
- Hybrid
About the programThe University of St. Thomas offers an MA in Teaching Special Education with a focus on Emotional Behavioral Disorders, one of five special education licensure areas the school prepares teachers to enter. The program flexes to meet candidates where they are, offering a 50-credit Initial License pathway for those new to teaching and a shorter Additional License route of 30 or more credits for educators layering EBD onto an existing career. Courses run face-to-face, hybrid, and hyflex across campus and metro locations, and a required student teaching and seminar experience plus an EBD Summer Institute keep working educators close to real classrooms. Graduates earn a Minnesota EBD teaching license serving students from kindergarten through age 21. The program is a Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board-approved teacher preparation program. Its structure suits both entering teachers and veterans broadening their reach. This program offers a master's degree in emotional and behavioral disorders education in Minnesota.
Why it ranks hereSchool siteMaster's programs are judged differently here. Undergraduate stats do not apply, so the ranking looks at whether the program is established, the pay its graduates walk into locally, and how the university stands behind it. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 4 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort. Its graduates step into Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, where elementary teachers earn a median $79,730, roughly $76,062 once local cost of living is factored in, a real-world read on what the credential is worth in that market.
Area teacher pay: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025, adjusted for local cost of living via U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities. A location figure, not this program's graduate earnings.
- 3
Morningside University
34score- 24Master's/yr
- $62,270Metro teacher pay
- Master of Arts in Teaching: Special Education (Instructional Strategist II: Behavioral Disorders/Learning Disabilities)
- Online
About the programMorningside University offers a Master of Arts in Teaching: Special Education with an Instructional Strategist II endorsement in Behavioral Disorders and Learning Disabilities, delivered fully online. The design speaks clearly to its audience, working classroom teachers who want to extend their credentials without leaving their positions, and the coursework culminates in an action-research project applied directly to the student's own classroom. That practical anchoring, paired with alignment to Iowa Board of Educational Examiners and Council for Exceptional Children standards, keeps the program grounded in the daily realities of special education practice. Completion leads to the Iowa Instructional Strategist II endorsement for behavioral disorders and learning disabilities, and the credits apply toward the full degree. Morningside University holds accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission. The result reads as a career-building path for teachers deepening their expertise while staying in the field. As a master's degree in emotional and behavioral disorders education, it adds to the master's-level emotional and behavioral disorders education options in Iowa.
Why it ranks hereSchool siteFor a graduate program we set aside undergraduate figures and weigh three things instead: how established it is, the local market its graduates enter, and the institution's standing. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 24 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort. Its graduates step into Sioux City, IA-NE-SD, where elementary teachers earn a median $62,270, roughly $72,027 once local cost of living is factored in, a real-world read on what the credential is worth in that market.
Area teacher pay: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025, adjusted for local cost of living via U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities. A location figure, not this program's graduate earnings.
How we rank
Each master's program is scored 0 to 100 against the other master's programs in its specialty on the measures the federal data actually supports at the graduate level: the number of master's degrees it awards each year (30%), counted as a sign that the program is established rather than rewarding sheer size: a program reaches full credit at about fifty degrees a year and awarding thousands more adds nothing, so a high-volume online degree factory earns no advantage here; the median wage for elementary teachers in the program's local area (30%), from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The wage is the metropolitan-area figure where the school sits in a metro (about 85% of programs) and the state figure otherwise, and it is adjusted for the local cost of living using the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, so a high nominal salary in an expensive metro does not outrank a lower salary that goes further. It is a measure of local earning potential in the field, not the earnings of this program's graduates, which are not published. The third and largest measure is a program-strength score (40%), 0 to 100, led by the institution's Carnegie research classification, so a very-high-research university outranks a small teaching college on institutional standing. It adds a bonus where the program names a national programmatic accreditor like CAEP or AAQEP, but does not lean on it, because several states approve educator preparation through their own boards rather than CAEP, and a strong flagship should not be marked down for its state's accreditation choice. A clearly identified degree and licensure pathway adds a little more, and private for-profit programs, whose graduate outcomes are documented as weaker, take a deduction. Graduation rate, admission rate, and tuition are deliberately NOT scored: the first two are institution-wide undergraduate figures that describe the wrong population, and verified graduate tuition exists for too few programs to rank on fairly. Cost is shown on each card where we have it, but it does not affect the ranking. Every master's program is ranked and shown, with no per-state cap.
- Established program size, degrees awarded per year, capped so volume alone does not win: 30%
- Local-area teacher pay, cost-of-living adjusted (BLS + BEA): 30%
- Program strength, institutional research standing plus accreditation, less a for-profit deduction: 40%
Prefer a single measure? See most popular, highest area pay.
How much a master's in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Education program costs in 2026
Graduate tuition is priced by the credit rather than the year, and most master's in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Education programs run 30 to 36 credits, so the total turns on a school's per-credit rate and whether you pay the in-state or out-of-state figure. Public universities are usually the least expensive for residents, while private and out-of-state rates run higher. Because IPEDS reports only an institution-wide undergraduate tuition that does not describe a graduate program, each card shows a researched per-program cost wherever a school publishes one, rather than a misleading campus-wide number.
Sticker price is rarely the final cost. Graduate students can borrow through federal Direct Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS loans, and teachers have targeted help: the TEACH Grant provides up to $4,000 a year for a commitment to teach a high-need subject in a low-income school, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness can clear the remaining balance after ten years of qualifying payments in a public school or district. Many districts also reimburse part of a master's for teachers who earn it on the job, since a graduate degree usually moves them up the salary schedule.
Sources: program data from IPEDS; the TEACH Grant and Public Service Loan Forgiveness from Federal Student Aid.
Ways to earn your master's in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Education
Online delivery is central at this level: 2 of the 3 ranked programs offer an online or hybrid option, which fits teachers and other professionals who study while working full time. Programs are often organized as cohorts on evening, weekend, or asynchronous schedules, with any required field hours arranged near you. A typical master's runs about two years part-time, or twelve to eighteen months full-time.
The right format depends on why you are enrolling. Licensed teachers pursuing a master's for advancement or an added specialization can usually study fully online while they keep teaching. Career-changers who need an initial teaching license should instead look for a Master of Arts in Teaching or another licensure-track program, which pairs coursework with a supervised student-teaching placement or a paid residency and so includes in-person clinical time.
Sources: program and delivery data from IPEDS.
Data sources for our Master's in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Education ranking
- Program counts and degrees awarded: IPEDS, US Department of Education. Cost figures are researched from each program's own published tuition, since IPEDS reports only undergraduate tuition.
- Program descriptions: each school's official catalog and program pages.