---
title: Is a Curriculum and Instruction degree worth the debt?
cip: 1303
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Curriculum and Instruction degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **3** colleges (3 of 3 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $41,728 ($40,628 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $26,550 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.64× a first year's pay


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $41,728 | $26,550 | 0.64× | 3 | 3/3 |
| Master's | $48,271 | $25,836 | 0.56× | 189 | 189/189 |
| Doctoral | $66,544 | $61,756 | 0.99× | 27 | 27/27 |
| Grad cert. | $53,571 | $32,206 | 0.73× | 5 | 5/5 |

## Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Walden University (MN) | $67,666 | — |
| University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (WI) | $41,728 | $26,550 |
| Wichita State University (KS) | $38,814 | — |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/curriculum-and-instruction.jsonld` · `/education/fields/curriculum-and-instruction.json`