Elementary Education · North Carolina

North Carolina colleges that awarded Elementary Education credentials

46 colleges in North Carolina reported conferring Elementary Education credentials to the federal IPEDS collection in 2023-24, and every one of them also awarded in the year before. 44 awarded a degree, and 2 awarded only a certificate. That is a record of credentials already awarded, not confirmation that a program is currently admitting.

Colleges and what they awarded

Largest first by credentials conferred in 2023-24. That order measures the size of the graduating class and nothing else: it is not a ranking, and the largest entry is often a certificate provider rather than the strongest degree program. The credential is labelled on every row for exactly that reason.

Colleges in North Carolina that conferred Elementary Education credentials in 2023-24, with the number awarded and whether any was a degree.
CollegeCredentials awardedHighest level
Appalachian State University187Degree
East Carolina University174Degree
University of North Carolina at Charlotte116Degree
University of North Carolina Wilmington99Degree
North Carolina State University at Raleigh52Degree
University of North Carolina at Greensboro50Degree
University of North Carolina at Pembroke45Degree
Western Carolina University40Degree
Elon University38Degree
Gardner-Webb University36Degree
High Point University33Degree
James Sprunt Community College23Degree
Chowan University20Degree
Lees-McRae College18Degree
North Carolina A & T State University17Degree
Campbell University16Degree
Elizabeth City State University14Degree
North Carolina Central University14Degree
Pfeiffer University13Degree
Wingate University13Degree
Queens University of Charlotte11Degree
Barton College10Degree
University of Mount Olive10Degree
Belmont Abbey College8Degree
Catawba College7Degree
Lenoir-Rhyne University7Degree
Southeastern Free Will Baptist Bible College7Degree
St. Andrews University7Degree
Winston-Salem State University7Degree
Fayetteville State University6Degree
Wake Forest University6Degree
Mars Hill University5Degree
Methodist University5Degree
Bennett College4Degree
North Carolina Wesleyan University4Degree
Montreat College3Degree
William Peace University3Degree
Greensboro College2Degree
Isothermal Community College2Degree
Meredith College2Degree
Shaw University2Degree
Carolina University1Degree
Central Piedmont Community College1Certificate only
Salem College1Degree
Sampson Community College1Degree
Wilson Community College1Certificate only

How much of this field is in North Carolina

Credentials awarded
1,141
Share of U.S. total
2.7%
Colleges awarding it
46
Awarding a degree
44

North Carolina colleges conferred 1,141 Elementary Education credentials in 2023-24, which is 2.7% of the 41,828 conferred across the 51 U.S. jurisdictions reporting any. Of the 46 colleges here, 44 awarded a degree and 2 awarded only a certificate. These counts measure the size of graduating classes, not program quality, and not how many students are currently enrolled.

What level those credentials were

  • Certificates2%21
  • Associate<1%7
  • Bachelor's88%1,009
  • Graduate9%104

Most Elementary Education credentials awarded in North Carolina were bachelor's degrees. That is 17 percentage points more weighted toward bachelor's degrees than the field nationally, where they are 71% of credentials. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and the level a program awards is set by the program rather than by the student.

We measured how much this varies nationwide, and for most fields the credential level is set by the field rather than the state: is your major a certificate or a degree?

How concentrated it is. The single college with the largest reported graduating class in this field accounted for 16% of North Carolina’s Elementary Education credentials. Activity is spread across several institutions rather than sitting with one.

What these North Carolina colleges cost

Median net price across the 40 of these 46 colleges that report it, by family income. Net price is what students receiving federal aid actually paid for the WHOLE college after grants and scholarships, so it is not the price of a Elementary Education program specifically, and not a quote for any family.

0-30k
$15,390
30-48k
$15,394
48-75k
$18,220
75-110k
$21,151
110k+
$25,183

By the kind of college

The figure above averages very different institutions together. Split by federal sector, for a family earning under $30,000:

Median net price for a family earning under $30,000, by kind of college, among North Carolina colleges that reported awarding Elementary Educationcredentials.
Kind of collegeCollegesMedian net price
Public four-year13$8,370
Private26$17,938

Sector is the federal classification (IPEDS ICLEVEL and CONTROL). Private covers both nonprofit and for-profit colleges, which CampusPin does not split here because the for-profit sample in a single state is usually too small to publish a median. Each row needs at least five colleges reporting net price, so a sector with fewer is left out rather than estimated.

A family earning under $30,000 paid a median of $15,390 at these colleges, against $25,183 for a family earning over $110,000. Individual colleges vary widely around these medians. See every North Carolina college by income band.

What this evidence does and does not prove

This lists colleges that reported conferring credentials in this field to the federal IPEDS completions collection, in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. It does not confirm that any of them is currently admitting students to the program, and a college can appear here after deciding to close it. Confirm with the institution before it affects where you apply.

How this list was built

From the U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions collection, matched to each college on its exact federal program classification. A college appears only if it conferred credentials in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, which is what separates a running program from one that has already closed.

This page exists because its list of colleges is materially different from that of every closely related field in North Carolina — the fields a reader could otherwise mistake it for, such as two engineering disciplines, or nursing and practical nursing. Where a related field resolves to the same colleges, the second page would be the first one with its title changed, and CampusPin does not publish it. Sharing colleges with an unrelated field is different, and not a reason to withhold the page: in most states the same colleges award business, psychology and biology alike, which says something about the colleges rather than about the fields. We measured exactly how often that happens, and published the result: does choosing a major narrow your college list?

What Elementary Education graduates go on to do

Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Elementary Education, ordered by projected annual openings. National figures: openings and pay do not vary by where you studied, and the crosswalk describes related fields rather than a required or guaranteed path.

Occupations associated with Elementary Education, with median annual wage, projected annual openings, and the education most entrants hold.
OccupationMedian payOpenings / yrMost entrants hold
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education$62,34091,000Bachelor's degree
Education Teachers, Postsecondary$72,0905,600Doctoral or professional degree

Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). “Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already in the occupation, not a legal requirement, an admission rule, or a guarantee of entry. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.

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