---
title: Is a Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas degree worth the debt?
cip: 1313
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 Subject Areas degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **352** colleges (352 of 352 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $36,899 ($37,208 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $24,868 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.66× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $32,552–$40,153 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Associate's | $18,902 | $8,171 | 0.43× | 6 | 6/6 |
| Bachelor's | $36,899 | $24,868 | 0.66× | 352 | 352/352 |
| Master's | $48,870 | $25,468 | 0.53× | 290 | 290/290 |
| Doctoral | $61,722 | $85,723 | 1.08× | 6 | 6/6 |
| Grad cert. | $56,018 | $17,562 | 0.24× | 8 | 8/8 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CUNY Hunter College (NY) | $52,494 | $15,504 |
| New York University (NY) | $52,475 | $24,028 |
| Pacific Lutheran University (WA) | $50,648 | $29,740 |
| CUNY Brooklyn College (NY) | $50,539 | $13,857 |
| Texas Christian University (TX) | $50,473 | $24,989 |
| The College of New Jersey (NJ) | $49,256 | $25,000 |
| Baylor University (TX) | $49,234 | $27,000 |
| Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (IL) | $48,694 | $17,680 |
| University of Louisville (KY) | $48,208 | $18,750 |
| Rider University (NJ) | $47,900 | $27,000 |
| Texas Lutheran University (TX) | $47,682 | $27,000 |
| Ithaca College (NY) | $47,318 | $26,000 |
| Saint Edward's University (TX) | $47,191 | $26,000 |
| SUNY College at Geneseo (NY) | $46,912 | $21,554 |
| William Paterson University of New Jersey (NJ) | $46,852 | $20,834 |

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-subject-areas.jsonld` · `/education/fields/teacher-education-and-professional-development-specific-subject-areas.json`