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

Is a Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 352 colleges (352 of 352 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$36,899

Graduates only, early career.$37,208 two years out.

Median federal debt

$24,868

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 Subject Areas report early-career pay between $32,552 and $40,153 — a spread of $7,601 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $32,552 median $36,899 75th pct $40,153

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Associate's 6 colleges $18,902 $8,171 0.43×

Bachelor's 352 colleges $36,899 $24,868 0.66×

Master's 290 colleges $48,870 $25,468 0.53×

Doctoral 6 colleges $61,722 $85,723 1.08×

Grad cert. 8 colleges $56,018 $17,562 0.24×

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.

CUNY Hunter College NY $52,494 $15,504 debt

New York University NY $52,475 $24,028 debt

Pacific Lutheran University WA $50,648 $29,740 debt

CUNY Brooklyn College NY $50,539 $13,857 debt

Texas Christian University TX $50,473 $24,989 debt

The College of New Jersey NJ $49,256 $25,000 debt

Baylor University TX $49,234 $27,000 debt

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale IL $48,694 $17,680 debt

University of Louisville KY $48,208 $18,750 debt

Rider University NJ $47,900 $27,000 debt

Texas Lutheran University TX $47,682 $27,000 debt

Ithaca College NY $47,318 $26,000 debt

Saint Edward's University TX $47,191 $26,000 debt

SUNY College at Geneseo NY $46,912 $21,554 debt

William Paterson University of New Jersey NJ $46,852 $20,834 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

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