College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Special Education and Teaching degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 179 colleges (179 of 179 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$38,709

Graduates only, early career.$37,568 two years out.

Median federal debt

$25,000

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.64×

64% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Special Education and Teaching report early-career pay between $35,778 and $41,655 — a spread of $5,877 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $35,778 median $38,709 75th pct $41,655

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 179 colleges $38,709 $25,000 0.64×

Master's 281 colleges $49,566 $29,578 0.59×

Grad cert. 14 colleges $48,430 $31,875 0.66×

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

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Gonzaga University WA $49,990 $27,000 debt

Kean University NJ $49,445 $25,479 debt

Western Washington University WA $49,253 $27,000 debt

Syracuse University NY $47,988 $27,000 debt

Central Washington University WA $47,108 —

Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia PA $46,850 $27,000 debt

SUNY Old Westbury NY $46,821 $18,400 debt

York College of Pennsylvania PA $46,774 $26,950 debt

Towson University MD $46,717 $17,089 debt

Boston University MA $46,446 $27,000 debt

Aurora University IL $45,921 —

University of Hawaii at Manoa HI $45,781 $16,049 debt

Southern Connecticut State University CT $45,526 $25,750 debt

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania PA $45,208 $27,000 debt

Salve Regina University RI $44,791 $27,000 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Special Education and Teaching, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard