Art Education major
Art Education: courses, careers, and where to study
Art Education prepares future teachers to lead K-12 visual-art classrooms, pairing studio skill in drawing, painting, and design with the pedagogy and licensure to teach it.
Art Education, classified federally as Art Teacher Education, prepares people to teach the visual arts in schools. Where a Studio Art major centers on developing a student's own artistic practice and portfolio, this field points artistic skill toward the classroom: planning art lessons, teaching technique and art history to beginners, sequencing projects across grade levels, and assessing creative work fairly. It also differs from Music Education, which prepares teachers for ensembles and general music rather than for drawing, painting, ceramics, design, and the broader visual arts. Candidates keep building their own ability across media, but always in service of helping students learn to make and understand art.
Most art-teaching positions are entered with a bachelor's degree that combines studio coursework with an education sequence: art methods, child and adolescent development, classroom management, and a culminating student-teaching placement in real schools under a mentor teacher. Graduates most often teach art in public, charter, and private elementary and secondary schools, and some later move into museum education, district arts leadership, or graduate study. Because public-school teaching is regulated, candidates should confirm the exact certification grade bands and exams required where they intend to work before committing to a program.
In federal data for the closely related occupation of secondary school teachers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $64,580 and projects employment to decline about 1.6% from 2024 to 2034; a bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Art Education maps to CIP 13.1302, Art Teacher Education, within the EDUCATION family. The official definition:
A program that prepares individuals to teach art and art appreciation programs at various educational levels.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Art Education is awarded as
Of the 1,826 Art Education credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Certificate2%32
- Associate<1%4
- Bachelor's58%1,065
- Graduate40%725
CampusPin does not have enough states reporting this field to say whether the mix changes from state to state. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- Drawing, painting, and two- and three-dimensional foundations
- Art history and visual culture
- Art methods and pedagogy across grade levels
- Child and adolescent artistic development
- Assessing and critiquing creative work fairly
- Classroom management for studio settings
- Curriculum design and project sequencing
- Media across ceramics, printmaking, and digital art
- Supervised student-teaching practicum in schools
Typical careers
- Elementary Art Teacher
- Secondary Art Teacher
- K-12 Visual Arts Teacher
- Museum Educator
- District Arts Coordinator
- Private Art Instructor
Typical salary range: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 secondary school teachers median $64,580).Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Art Education, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | $64,580 | 66,200 | -1.6% | Bachelor's degree |
| Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | $62,970 | 40,500 | -2% | Bachelor's degree |
| Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary | $80,190 | 9,000 | +1.7% | Master's degree |
| Education Teachers, Postsecondary | $72,090 | 5,600 | +2.1% | Doctoral or professional degree |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 4 of these 4 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Art Education does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Before you commit to a Art Education major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Art Education program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Art Education department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Art Education program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Art Education credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- University of North TexasTX · 63
- Kutztown University of PennsylvaniaPA · 56
- Adelphi UniversityNY · 46
- University of FloridaFL · 45
- CUNY Queens CollegeNY · 42
- Georgia State UniversityGA · 36
- Teachers College at Columbia UniversityNY · 35
- Ohio State University-Main CampusOH · 33
- State University of New York at New PaltzNY · 32
- University of Northern IowaIA · 27
- Virginia Commonwealth UniversityVA · 27
- Kent State University at KentOH · 26
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Art Education credentials were awarded
12 states have a distinct enough set of Art Education colleges to be worth its own page.
Related majors
Studio Art
Studio Art is a hands-on visual-arts major where you make original work across media like drawing, painting, sculpture, and photography, suited to students who learn by creating.
Art History
Art History studies how art was made, used, and understood across cultures and eras, suiting students who pair close visual analysis with research and writing.
Music Education
Music Education trains future teachers to lead school music classes and ensembles, blending musicianship with the pedagogy and licensure needed to teach in public schools.
Education
Education prepares graduates for state-licensed teaching careers in public and private K–12 schools, combining content-area study with pedagogy and supervised student-teaching.
Elementary Education
Elementary Education prepares you to teach all core subjects to children in the elementary grades, building skills in reading, math, science, and child development.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Art Education degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Education & Library careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Art Education degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Art Education path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.