undergradly.
Major · Education

Bringing studio practice into K–12 and college art classrooms

Art Teacher Education (CIP 13.1302) prepares you to teach art and art appreciation across K–12 and, with graduate work, the college level. About 1,062 students complete it across 317 institutions; bachelor’s grads earn $51,376 and associate’s grads $34,368 — a wide gap that reflects the bachelor’s-plus-licensure floor for K–12 art teaching.

Schools offering
317
Annual completions
1,062
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$50k

About this major

Art Teacher Education (CIP 13.1302) prepares you to teach art and art appreciation programs at various educational levels — primarily K–12, with graduate-school extensions toward postsecondary teaching. The major sits inside an education-school structure: studio coursework runs in parallel with pedagogy, child and adolescent development, classroom management, art-specific methods, and supervised student teaching. Programs are explicitly designed to meet state initial-licensure requirements, which makes the bachelor’s-plus-licensure pairing the practical entry credential for the field.

The major fits students who already love studio practice and want to make classroom teaching their working role rather than studio production. It rewards patience with novice artists, comfort planning developmentally appropriate sequences, and the willingness to navigate the bureaucratic side of public-school employment — licensure exams, evaluation cycles, and state-curriculum alignment. Studio strength matters, but so does the ability to scaffold, assess, and motivate students whose own work is just starting.

One grounded observation about scale and trajectory: 1,062 students complete this CIP across 317 institutions, with bachelor’s grads earning $51,376 and associate’s-only completers $34,368 — a gap that reflects the bachelor’s-plus-licensure floor for K–12 art teaching. The named K–12 SOCs (secondary teachers $64,580, middle school teachers $62,970) project -1.6% and -2% growth respectively, driven by demographic decline and budget pressure on arts programs. Postsecondary art, drama, and music teachers ($80,190) require a master’s; education postsecondary teachers ($72,090) require a doctorate. Top producers — University of North Texas (51), Kutztown (31), Northern Iowa (25), SUNY New Paltz (24) — are regional state universities with mature teacher-prep colleges, which is the dominant institutional profile for licensure-driven CIPs.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education $65k -1.6% Bachelor's degree
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education $63k -2.0% Bachelor's degree
Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary $80k +1.7% Master's degree
Education teachers, postsecondary $72k +2.1% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$50k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$34k

Bachelor's

$51k

Who this major is for

Good signs this major fits: you’re a studio artist who finds explaining and demonstrating technique satisfying in its own right, not just a way to subsidize personal work; you want a stable employment track with a clear credential pathway and benefits; you’re comfortable with the bureaucratic side of public-school work — licensure exams, observation cycles, and state-curriculum alignment; you’re drawn to art history, art appreciation, and curriculum design alongside studio practice; and you’re willing to dual-certify in a second area (elementary, special education) to broaden hiring odds in tight budget years.

Reasons to pause: K–12 demand is shrinking — secondary school teachers project -1.6% growth and middle school teachers -2%, driven by demographic decline and budget pressure on arts education. Art positions are often among the first cut in budget years, so plan for that risk. The associate’s-only path doesn’t teach in K–12 classrooms; bachelor’s-plus-licensure is the floor, and the $34,368 associate’s earnings figure reflects that. State-by-state licensure variation makes geographic flexibility complicated. If you want to teach studio art at the college level, the postsecondary art teacher SOC ($80,190) requires a master’s minimum, often an MFA — a separate post-bachelor’s commitment. If you want primarily to make and exhibit art, Art/Art Studies, General (CIP 50.0701, 13,626 completions) keeps studio work at the center without the licensure overhead.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Art Teacher Education

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of North Texas Denton, TX 0 51 51
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA 0 31 31
University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 0 25 25
State University of New York at New Paltz New Paltz, NY 0 24 24
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI 0 20 20
Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH 0 19 19
Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL 0 18 18
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA 0 18 18
California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA 0 17 17
Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH 0 15 15
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Art/Art Studies, General

13,626 completions/yr

Physical Education Teaching and Coaching

4,787 completions/yr

Secondary Education and Teaching

4,057 completions/yr

Teacher Education, Multiple Levels

3,430 completions/yr

Music Teacher Education

3,229 completions/yr

Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching

2,213 completions/yr

English/Language Arts Teacher Education

1,846 completions/yr

Social Studies Teacher Education

1,336 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Art Teacher Education majors actually study?
Coursework pairs studio-art production (drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, digital media, art history) with education-school requirements: child and adolescent development, classroom management, instructional design, art-specific pedagogy, and supervised student teaching. Most programs are structured to satisfy state initial-licensure requirements, which is why the major lives in education-school catalogs alongside other content-area teacher-prep tracks. Expect both a portfolio-driven studio sequence and a methods-and-practicum sequence.
Do I need a bachelor’s, or is an associate’s enough?
K–12 art teaching requires at least a bachelor’s and state initial licensure — the named SOC entries (secondary school teachers and middle school teachers) both list bachelor’s as typical entry. The associate-vs-bachelor’s earnings split is wide here ($34,368 vs $51,376), reflecting that associate’s-only completers are not licensed to teach in K–12 classrooms. The associate’s track is generally a transfer pathway into a four-year teacher-prep program, not a standalone teaching credential.
What kinds of jobs do Art Teacher Education graduates end up in?
The primary destination is secondary school teachers ($64,580 median, -1.6% projected growth) and middle school teachers ($62,970, -2%). With a master’s, postsecondary art, drama, and music teachers ($80,190) and education postsecondary teachers ($72,090, requires a doctorate) become reachable. Off the named list, graduates also land in museum education, after-school and community arts programs, art therapy adjacent roles, and arts-administration work — though those typically pay less than full-time K–12 teaching.
Why is the projected job growth negative?
Both named K–12 SOCs show negative growth — secondary at -1.6% and middle school at -2% — driven by demographic decline in school-age population and budget pressure on non-tested subjects, including arts education, in many districts. Hiring continues, particularly in growing metros and underserved rural districts, but openings are not expanding. Art positions specifically are often the first cut in tight budget years, making subject-specific licensure (with a second area such as elementary or special education) a useful hedge.
What state licensure is required to teach K–12 art?
Every state requires an art-specific teaching license tied to a bachelor’s degree, supervised student teaching, content-area subject exams (often Praxis or state-specific), and basic-skills exams. Some states have separate K–6 and 7–12 art certifications; others issue a unified K–12 art credential. Reciprocity between states exists but is partial — moving across states often requires additional coursework or exams. Verify the state of intended employment before committing to a program; out-of-state programs sometimes fail to satisfy the destination state’s requirements.
What programs produce the most art teachers?
University of North Texas leads with 51 completions, followed by Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (31), University of Northern Iowa (25), SUNY New Paltz (24), and University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (20). The producer list is dominated by regional state universities with established teacher-prep colleges and strong studio-art departments — a typical pattern for state-licensure-driven CIPs. The 317-college total nationally reflects how widely distributed teacher-prep is, but the per-institution graduating cohort is small (often under 20 a year), so program culture and student-teaching placement quality matter heavily.