Is a subject-area teacher education degree from UConn worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 97% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 60%. Compare the cost with other Connecticut programs before deciding.

UConn Subject-Area Teacher Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do UConn subject-area teacher education graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 2nd lowest of 6 subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs in Connecticut. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.

Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas
Public university
Storrs, CT
About 86 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

UConn subject-area teacher education graduates earn less than graduates of most subject-area teacher education programs nationally, $25,777 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,269. Several Connecticut programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$25,7773rd percentile of 341 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$59,551131% more than year one

Median federal debt$25,0002nd lowest of 6 Connecticut programs

Debt-to-earnings97%Connecticut median 64%, national 60%

How it compares

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

	UConn	Connecticut	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$25,777	$42,411	$43,242
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$59,551	$55,934	$50,239
Median federal debt at graduation	$25,000	$26,000	$26,269
Debt as share of first-year pay	97%	64%	60%
Programs compared		6	341

Five years out, UConn graduates earn more than the national figure and about $3,617 more than the Connecticut median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Connecticut subject-area teacher education program

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

UConnOther Connecticut 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 131% between the first and fifth year.

UConn grads, year 1$25,777

UConn grads, year 5$59,551

All Connecticut subject-area teacher education grads, year 5$55,934

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 $265 a month, or 12.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

35 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $55,368.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Hartford area are about 3% above the national average, so a $25,777 salary here buys what about $25,088 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

$80,600

Median pay in Connecticut. 16,330 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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%: $58,870Top 10%: $105,890

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$80,970

Median pay in Connecticut. 14,800 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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%: $51,710Top 10%: $113,610

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$93,610

Median pay in Connecticut. 7,920 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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%: $60,070Top 10%: $110,120

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

$61,580

Median pay in Connecticut. 2,850 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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.

Bottom 10%: $34,010Top 10%: $103,590

About UConn

In-state tuition and fees	$21,044 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$43,712 / year
Average net price after aid	$25,097 / year
Admission rate	52%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	83%
Undergraduate students	19,835

Subject-Area Teacher Education ranks 54th of 58 bachelor's programs at UConn by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($84,969), Computer Engineering ($82,924), and Computer Science ($79,605).

Other subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs near Storrs

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
UConnStorrs, CT · public		$25,777	$25,000
Eastern Connecticut StateWillimantic, CT · public	6 mi	$47,736	$29,000
University of HartfordWest Hartford, CT · private nonprofit	24 mi	$45,125	$27,000
Central Connecticut StateNew Britain, CT · public	28 mi	$45,790	$25,000
Southern Connecticut StateNew Haven, CT · public	49 mi	$29,653	$24,875

Common questions

The median graduate earns $25,777 one year after graduating and $59,551 five years after. The median across subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs in Connecticut is $42,411.

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 Connecticut 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

Subject-Area Teacher Education bachelor's programs in Connecticut, ranked6 programs by pay and debt Subject-Area Teacher Education bachelor's programs in the US, ranked341 programs by pay and debt All UConn programs, ranked58 programs by pay and debt