UPR Rio Piedras Teacher Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
- Public university
- San Juan, PR
- About 24 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UPR Rio Piedras teacher education graduates earn less than graduates of most teacher education programs nationally, $10,343 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $5,500 in federal loans, less than at more than 99% of teacher education programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Puerto Rico median of $20,495.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Puerto Rico and national columns are the medians across all teacher education bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, UPR Rio Piedras graduates earn less than the national figure but about $3,690 more than the Puerto Rico median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Puerto Rico teacher education program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Puerto Rico 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 169% 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 $58 a month, or 6.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
76% of graduates (31 of 41) were working in Puerto Rico one year after graduating.
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
$51,540Median pay in Puerto Rico. 4,370 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. 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
$59,100Median pay in Puerto Rico. 5,640 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. 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
$52,530Median pay in Puerto Rico. 3,490 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. 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.
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
$32,120Median pay in Puerto Rico. 2,960 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. 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.
About UPR Rio Piedras
Teacher Education ranks 6th of 10 bachelor's programs at UPR Rio Piedras by first-year earnings. The top three are Finance ($61,729), Management Information Systems ($43,665), and Accounting ($27,883).
Other teacher education bachelor's programs near San Juan
Common questions
The median graduate earns $10,343 one year after graduating and $27,848 five years after. The median across teacher education bachelor's programs in Puerto Rico is $20,495.
The median federal loan balance is $5,500, which ranks 2nd lowest of 8 teacher education bachelor's programs in Puerto Rico. That works out to about $58 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 53% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 61%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Puerto Rico programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 76% (31 of 41) were working in Puerto Rico 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 Puerto Rico 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