University of South Carolina Subject-Area Teacher Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas
- Public university
- Columbia, SC
- About 11 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of South Carolina subject-area teacher education graduates earn about what subject-area teacher education graduates earn nationally, $40,596 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $23,780 in federal loans, less than at 75% of subject-area teacher education programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying subject-area teacher education degrees in South Carolina.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The South Carolina and national columns are the medians across all subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University of South Carolina graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the South Carolina median.
Debt and first-year pay at every South Carolina subject-area teacher education program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the South Carolina 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 2% 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 $252 a month, or 7.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
84% of graduates (21 of 25) were working in South Carolina one year after graduating. Prices in the Columbia area are about 6% below the national average, so a $40,596 salary here buys what about $43,343 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
$60,820Median pay in South Carolina. 25,030 people work in this job in South Carolina. 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
$62,580Median pay in South Carolina. 16,080 people work in this job in South Carolina. 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
$60,810Median pay in South Carolina. 9,750 people work in this job in South Carolina. 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
$43,630Median pay in South Carolina. 5,130 people work in this job in South Carolina. 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 University of South Carolina
Subject-Area Teacher Education ranks 27th of 56 bachelor's programs at University of South Carolina by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($77,161), Chemical Engineering ($75,680), and Computer Engineering ($73,982).
Other subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs near Columbia
Common questions
The median graduate earns $40,596 one year after graduating and $41,608 five years after. The median across subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs in South Carolina is $40,394.
The median federal loan balance is $23,780, which ranks 4th lowest of 9 subject-area teacher education bachelor's programs in South Carolina. That works out to about $252 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 59% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 60%.
Most do. 84% (21 of 25) were working in South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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