Grand Valley State Subject-Area Teacher Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas
- Public university
- Allendale, MI
- About 112 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Grand Valley State subject-area teacher education graduates earn about what subject-area teacher education graduates earn nationally, $46,124 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $30,750 in federal loans, more than at 94% of subject-area teacher education programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying subject-area teacher education degrees in Michigan.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Michigan and national columns are the medians across all subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Grand Valley State graduates earn more than the national figure and about $2,481 more than the Michigan median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan subject-area teacher education program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Michigan medians.
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 12% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $3,089 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $326 a month, or 8.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
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. Separately, 64 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $30,380.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
88% of graduates (91 of 103) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the Grand Rapids area are about 4% below the national average, so a $46,124 salary here buys what about $48,274 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 subject-area teacher education, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
$65,110Median pay in Michigan. 40,910 people work in this job in Michigan. 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.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$66,030Median pay in Michigan. 25,540 people work in this job in Michigan. 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.
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$63,790Median pay in Michigan. 15,420 people work in this job in Michigan. 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.
Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
$45,520Median pay in Michigan. 6,050 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 68,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
About Grand Valley State
Subject-Area Teacher Education ranks 21st of 62 bachelor's programs at Grand Valley State by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($80,746), Electrical Engineering ($80,732), and Manufacturing Engineering ($76,754).
Other subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs near Allendale
Common questions
The median graduate earns $46,124 one year after graduating and $51,809 five years after. The median across subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs in Michigan is $43,189.
The median federal loan balance is $30,750, which ranks 12th lowest of 16 subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs in Michigan. That works out to about $326 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 67% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 60%. Compare the cost with other Michigan programs before deciding.
Most do. 88% (91 of 103) were working in Michigan one year after graduating.
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 Michigan 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 subject-area 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