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

Is a Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 693 colleges (693 of 693 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$35,607

Graduates only, early career.$35,730 two years out.

Median federal debt

$24,087

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.66×

66% 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 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods report early-career pay between $32,810 and $38,904 — a spread of $6,094 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $32,810 median $35,607 75th pct $38,904

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Certificate 19 colleges $23,212 $9,500 0.41×

Associate's 119 colleges $22,931 $13,447 0.56×

Bachelor's 693 colleges $35,607 $24,087 0.66×

Master's 386 colleges $46,162 $29,591 0.64×

Doctoral 7 colleges $67,859 $61,813 0.93×

Grad cert. 9 colleges $53,468 — —

Post-baccalaureate Certificate 5 colleges $38,745 $25,408 0.62×

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.

Pacific Lutheran University WA $51,494 $19,500 debt

Seton Hall University NJ $50,470 $27,000 debt

Western Washington University WA $50,090 $20,043 debt

The College of New Jersey NJ $49,849 $23,299 debt

Rider University NJ $48,992 $25,748 debt

Centenary University NJ $48,952 $23,611 debt

Texas Christian University TX $48,622 $22,287 debt

Washington State University WA $48,458 $20,819 debt

William Paterson University of New Jersey NJ $48,354 $20,750 debt

University of Illinois Chicago IL $47,894 $15,000 debt

Central Washington University WA $47,716 $20,205 debt

Saint Martin's University WA $47,606 —

Dallas Baptist University TX $47,521 $22,250 debt

Morgan State University MD $47,492 $30,604 debt

Kean University NJ $47,418 $25,713 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods, 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