Education major
Education: courses, careers, and where to study
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.
An Education major leads to state-issued teaching licensure. Programs typically require a content-area major or concentration (math, English, science, social studies, foreign language, special ed, or elementary K–6) plus an education-specific sequence (educational psychology, classroom management, assessment, methods, and a semester of supervised student-teaching). The licensure path varies by state, most require passing Praxis I and Praxis II content-area exams.
Graduates work in public K–12, charter schools, private schools, and international schools. The MSEd or M.Ed is a common follow-on degree for teachers seeking specialty certification or administrative pathways.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Education maps to CIP 13.0101, Education, General, within the EDUCATION family. The official definition:
A program that focuses on the general theory and practice of learning and teaching, the basic principles of educational psychology, the art of teaching, the planning and administration of educational activities, school safety and health issues, and the social foundations of education.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Education is awarded as
Of the 27,206 Education credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Certificate5%1,268
- Associate7%1,842
- Bachelor's27%7,249
- Graduate62%16,847
This mix is fairly consistent nationally: across the 49 states reporting it, the certificate share moves by about 13 percentage points between the 10th and 90th percentile state, so the credential is more a property of the field than of where you study it. 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
- Educational psychology and child development
- Classroom management and assessment
- Curriculum design and instructional methods
- Content-area pedagogy (math, ELA, science, social studies)
- Special education foundations
- Educational technology
- Cultural responsiveness and equity
- Student-teaching practicum (12–16 weeks)
Typical careers
- Elementary School Teacher
- Middle / High School Teacher
- Special Education Teacher
- School Counselor (with M.Ed)
- Curriculum Specialist
- School Administrator (with EdD/EdS)
Typical salary range: $45,000–$58,000 early-career (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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education Teachers, Postsecondary | $72,090 | 5,600 | +2.1% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
| Teaching Assistants, Special Education | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
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). 1 of these 3 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 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 Education major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Education program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the 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 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 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.
- Walden UniversityMN · 994
- National UniversityCA · 779
- Teachers College of San JoaquinCA · 658
- Northcentral UniversityCA · 551
- The University of Texas at El PasoTX · 328
- University of North TexasTX · 328
- Texas A & M University-College StationTX · 308
- Southern New Hampshire UniversityNH · 304
- Johns Hopkins UniversityMD · 293
- Liberty UniversityVA · 284
- Texas Tech UniversityTX · 278
- Eastern Washington UniversityWA · 277
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 Education credentials were awarded
39 states have a distinct enough set of Education colleges to be worth its own page.
- California65
- Texas42
- Pennsylvania40
- Ohio32
- New York30
- Massachusetts28
- Tennessee27
- Illinois24
- Minnesota22
- Missouri21
- Maryland18
- Virginia17
- Indiana17
- Wisconsin17
- Washington16
- New Jersey16
- North Carolina16
- Florida15
- Michigan15
- Oregon15
- New Mexico15
- Connecticut13
- Colorado13
- Georgia12
- West Virginia12
- Maine11
- Kansas10
- Oklahoma10
- Arkansas10
- New Hampshire9
- Mississippi9
- Louisiana9
- Arizona9
- South Carolina8
- Iowa8
- Alabama7
- District of Columbia6
- Kentucky6
- Vermont5
Related majors
Psychology
Psychology majors study human cognition, behavior, and emotion, preparing graduates for clinical, research, business, and human-services careers (and graduate school in clinical, counseling, and I/O psych).
English & Literature
English develops critical reading, analytical writing, and rhetorical skill, a flexible major that feeds into law, publishing, education, marketing, and any field that values communication.
History
History trains graduates in research, evidence, and argument, feeding into law, education, museums, government, and any field that values long-form analytical writing.
Mathematics
Mathematics develops formal proof, abstraction, and quantitative analysis, feeding into research, finance, computing, actuarial science, and graduate programs across STEM.
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 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 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 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.