---
title: Is a Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods degree worth the debt?
cip: 1312
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 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **693** colleges (693 of 693 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $35,607 ($35,730 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $24,087 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.66× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $32,810–$38,904 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Certificate | $23,212 | $9,500 | 0.41× | 19 | 19/19 |
| Associate's | $22,931 | $13,447 | 0.56× | 119 | 119/119 |
| Bachelor's | $35,607 | $24,087 | 0.66× | 693 | 693/693 |
| Master's | $46,162 | $29,591 | 0.64× | 386 | 386/386 |
| Doctoral | $67,859 | $61,813 | 0.93× | 7 | 7/7 |
| Grad cert. | $53,468 | — | — | 9 | 9/9 |
| Post-baccalaureate Certificate | $38,745 | $25,408 | 0.62× | 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pacific Lutheran University (WA) | $51,494 | $19,500 |
| Seton Hall University (NJ) | $50,470 | $27,000 |
| Western Washington University (WA) | $50,090 | $20,043 |
| The College of New Jersey (NJ) | $49,849 | $23,299 |
| Rider University (NJ) | $48,992 | $25,748 |
| Centenary University (NJ) | $48,952 | $23,611 |
| Texas Christian University (TX) | $48,622 | $22,287 |
| Washington State University (WA) | $48,458 | $20,819 |
| William Paterson University of New Jersey (NJ) | $48,354 | $20,750 |
| University of Illinois Chicago (IL) | $47,894 | $15,000 |
| Central Washington University (WA) | $47,716 | $20,205 |
| Saint Martin's University (WA) | $47,606 | — |
| Dallas Baptist University (TX) | $47,521 | $22,250 |
| Morgan State University (MD) | $47,492 | $30,604 |
| Kean University (NJ) | $47,418 | $25,713 |

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/teacher-education-and-professional-development-specific-levels-and-methods.jsonld` · `/education/fields/teacher-education-and-professional-development-specific-levels-and-methods.json`