How much debt do Boston College teacher education graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $18,000, which ranks 2nd lowest of 13 teacher education bachelor's programs in Massachusetts. That works out to about $191 a month over 10 years.

Is a teacher education degree from Boston College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 42% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 61%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Massachusetts programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

Boston College Teacher Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
Private nonprofit college
Chestnut Hill, MA
About 41 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Boston College teacher education graduates earn about what teacher education graduates earn nationally, $43,262 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $18,000 in federal loans, less than at 92% of teacher education programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying teacher education degrees in Massachusetts.

First-year earnings$43,26261st percentile of 655 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$66,82654% more than year one

Median federal debt$18,0002nd lowest of 13 Massachusetts programs

Debt-to-earnings42%Massachusetts median 61%, national 61%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Massachusetts and national columns are the medians across all teacher education bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Boston College	Massachusetts	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$43,262	$42,216	$41,955
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$66,826	$50,005	$46,679
Median federal debt at graduation	$18,000	$27,000	$26,075
Debt as share of first-year pay	42%	61%	61%
Programs compared		13	655

Five years out, Boston College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $16,821 more than the Massachusetts median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts teacher education program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Massachusetts medians.

Boston CollegeOther Massachusetts programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 54% between the first and fifth year.

Boston College grads, year 1$43,262

Boston College grads, year 5$66,826

All Massachusetts teacher education grads, year 5$50,005

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $191 a month, or 5.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (67 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20–39%
Paying down the balance	40–59%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20% or less
In default	20% or less

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Boston area are about 8% above the national average, so a $43,262 salary here buys what about $39,959 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to teacher education, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education

$94,000

Median pay in Massachusetts. 29,930 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 87,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $60,620Top 10%: $118,190

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$95,260

Median pay in Massachusetts. 28,460 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $61,500Top 10%: $122,660

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$89,450

Median pay in Massachusetts. 16,570 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $60,590Top 10%: $107,610

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

$45,890

Median pay in Massachusetts. 18,710 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 66,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $35,890Top 10%: $60,440

About Boston College

Tuition and fees	$70,702 / year
Average net price after aid	$41,704 / year
Admission rate	16%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	91%
Undergraduate students	10,085

Teacher Education ranks 19th of 24 bachelor's programs at Boston College by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($86,749), Finance ($82,495), and Information Science ($80,731).

Other teacher education bachelor's programs near Chestnut Hill

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Boston CollegeChestnut Hill, MA · private nonprofit		$43,262	$18,000
Boston UniversityBoston, MA · private nonprofit	3 mi	$35,281	$27,000
Emmanuel CollegeBoston, MA · private nonprofit	3 mi	$42,216	$27,000
Lesley UniversityCambridge, MA · private nonprofit	4 mi	$36,897	$17,918
UMass BostonBoston, MA · public	7 mi	$38,846	$29,000
Stonehill CollegeEaston, MA · private nonprofit	20 mi	$44,027	$26,990
Gordon CollegeWenham, MA · private nonprofit	25 mi	$43,989	$26,975
Bridgewater StateBridgewater, MA · public	26 mi	$43,800	$27,000
Rivier UniversityNashua, NH · private nonprofit	31 mi	$38,552	$27,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $43,262 one year after graduating and $66,826 five years after. The median across teacher education bachelor's programs in Massachusetts is $42,216.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Massachusetts comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the teacher education program.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Teacher Education bachelor's programs in Massachusetts, ranked13 programs by pay and debt Teacher Education bachelor's programs in the US, ranked655 programs by pay and debt All Boston College programs, ranked24 programs by pay and debt