Northwestern State University of Louisiana Subject-Area Teacher Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas
- Public university
- Natchitoches, LA
- About 10 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Northwestern State University of Louisiana subject-area teacher education graduates earn more than graduates of most subject-area teacher education programs nationally, $46,458 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,962 in federal loans, more than at 82% of subject-area teacher education programs in the country. One other Louisiana program reports higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Louisiana and national columns are the medians across all subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Northwestern State University of Louisiana graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the Louisiana median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Louisiana subject-area teacher education program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Louisiana 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 9% between the first and fifth year.
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 $296 a month, or 7.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
58% of graduates (18 of 31) were working in Louisiana one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Louisiana outside metro areas are about 18% below the national average, so a $46,458 salary here buys what about $56,333 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
$58,770Median pay in Louisiana. 22,060 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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
$59,850Median pay in Louisiana. 15,210 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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
$58,760Median pay in Louisiana. 5,560 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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
$44,410Median pay in Louisiana. 2,290 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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 Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Subject-Area Teacher Education ranks 7th of 23 bachelor's programs at Northwestern State University of Louisiana by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($74,935), Health Sciences ($59,186), and Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($58,627).
Other subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs near Natchitoches
Common questions
The median graduate earns $46,458 one year after graduating and $50,756 five years after. The median across subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs in Louisiana is $28,746.
The median federal loan balance is $27,962, which ranks 4th lowest of 5 subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs in Louisiana. That works out to about $296 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 60% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 60%.
Most do. 58% (18 of 31) were working in Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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