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Major · Education

A residual education CIP for programs outside the named codes

Education, Other (CIP 13.9999) is a CIP catchall reading literally as "any instructional program in education not listed above." About 1,721 students complete it across 107 institutions; bachelor’s grads earn $48,677 and associate’s grads $50,300 — a slight salary inversion driven by program variability across institutions.

Schools offering
107
Annual completions
1,721
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$49k

About this major

Education, Other (CIP 13.9999) is a residual code whose definition reads in full "any instructional program in education not listed above." That means specific program content varies considerably by institution. Programs grouped here typically don’t fit a named CIP like Elementary Education (13.1202), Secondary Education (13.1205), Special Education (13.1001), Early Childhood Education and Teaching (13.1210), or Curriculum and Instruction (13.0301). In practice, this code captures educational-leadership undergraduate tracks, education-and-content-area blends, non-licensure educator-preparation programs, and innovative or experimental program designs that schools have positioned outside the standard classification.

The major fits students considering an education degree without committing to traditional K-12 classroom teaching. It rewards comfort with the variability of education-as-a-field — the same code can mean very different things at different schools. Day-to-day at the bachelor’s level varies as much as the programs do; some look like an education-major lite (foundations, learning sciences, child development, classroom-management courses) while others look more like an educational-leadership prep track or an instructional-design and edtech focus.

One grounded observation about scale and variability: 1,721 students complete this CIP across 107 institutions, with bachelor’s grads earning $48,677 and associate’s grads $50,300 — a small but unusual inversion that reflects how variable the bachelor’s-level destinations are. The named BLS occupation, Teachers and instructors, all other ($64,690, -0.1% growth) is itself a residual SOC covering teaching positions outside K-12 standard certification. Top producers like the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (191), Arizona State University Digital Immersion (188), and Albany State (121) anchor very different program models — research-university, large-online, and HBCU respectively. Without state certification (which is generally tied to named-CIP programs), realistic entry destinations skew toward corporate training, edtech and instructional-design roles, after-school programming, museum and informal education, and curriculum-development support.

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
Teachers and instructors, all other $65k -0.1% Bachelor'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

$49k

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

Associate's

$50k

Bachelor's

$49k

Who this major is for

Good signs this major fits: you’re drawn to education broadly but not specifically to K-12 classroom teaching — instructional design, edtech, corporate learning and development, museum education, or after-school programming all look interesting; you’ve verified that the specific program at your target school covers the track you actually want; and you have a clear post-bachelor’s plan such as a master’s in education, instructional design, or educational leadership where the bachelor’s functions as a flexible foundation rather than a terminal credential. The variability of 13.9999 programs means strong program-specific due diligence is the difference between a useful credential and a vague one.

Reasons to pause: the residual nature of the CIP means program quality and outcomes vary considerably across the 107 institutions in the data, and the named labor-market signal (Teachers and instructors all other, $64,690, -0.1% growth) is itself a residual SOC. Without state teacher certification, traditional K-12 classroom teaching is generally not available, so verify whether your program leads to certification before enrolling. If your goal is K-12 classroom work, a named education CIP — Elementary (13.1202), Secondary (13.1205), Special Education (13.1001), or Early Childhood (13.1210) — is almost always a better fit. Ask the school directly which specific track the program covers and what realistic destinations recent graduates have reached.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Education, Other

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

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN 0 191 191
Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ 0 188 188
Albany State University Albany, GA 0 121 121
Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH 0 113 113
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA 0 105 105
University at Albany Albany, NY 0 91 91
Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA 0 80 80
St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, FL 0 73 73
California State University-Channel Islands Camarillo, CA 0 70 70
University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN 0 65 65
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas, Other

912 completions/yr

Special Education and Teaching, Other

242 completions/yr

Bilingual and Multilingual Education

89 completions/yr

Montessori Teacher Education

19 completions/yr

Multicultural Education

15 completions/yr

Indian/Native American Education

3 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What does this CIP actually cover?
13.9999 is a CIP catchall whose definition reads "any instructional program in education not listed above." Programs end up in this code when they don’t fit a named CIP like Elementary Education (13.1202), Secondary Education (13.1205), Special Education (13.1001), Early Childhood Education (13.1210), or Curriculum and Instruction (13.0301). In practice, programs grouped here include educational-leadership undergraduate tracks, education-and-area-studies blends (e.g. education plus a content discipline), educator-preparation programs without state certification, and innovative or experimental program designs.
Will this lead to a teaching license?
Not automatically. State teaching certification is tied to specific state-approved educator-preparation programs — many of which use named CIPs like 13.1202 (Elementary), 13.1205 (Secondary), or 13.1001 (Special Ed). A 13.9999 program may or may not lead to certification depending on whether the school has state approval for that specific program. Always verify state certification status with the school directly before enrolling.
What jobs do graduates land?
The packet names two careers: Teachers and instructors, all other ($64,690, -0.1% growth, bachelor’s entry) and Education teachers, postsecondary ($72,090, doctoral entry). The first SOC is itself a residual catch-all covering teaching positions outside K-12 standard certification. Realistic entry destinations include corporate training, educational technology product roles, after-school and tutoring program coordination, museum and informal-education work, and curriculum-development support. Without state certification, traditional K-12 classroom teaching is generally not on the table.
Why does the data show associate’s pay above bachelor’s?
The packet shows associate’s grads at $50,300 versus bachelor’s grads at $48,677 — a slight inversion. The associate’s cohort is small and likely concentrated at programs targeting career-change adults entering paraprofessional or instructional-aide work where direct vocational placement holds wages up. The bachelor’s cohort is larger and more variable — many graduates take time entering education-specific work or move into adjacent fields where the major itself doesn’t determine wage.
How does this compare to a named education major?
Named education majors (Elementary 13.1202, Secondary 13.1205, Special Education 13.1001, Early Childhood 13.1210) are typically tied to specific state certification pathways and generally lead more directly to K-12 classroom teaching. The 13.9999 code is the residual — it can serve as a flexible undergraduate education degree for non-licensure roles, but it does not carry the certification value of named codes. If you want to teach in K-12, a named code with state-approved program status is almost always the better choice.
What should I check before enrolling in a 13.9999-coded program?
Three things: ask the school directly whether the program leads to state teacher certification (and in which state); confirm what specific track the program covers (educational leadership, edtech, instructional design, paraprofessional preparation, etc.); and check whether course credits articulate cleanly to a master’s in education if you plan to ladder up later. Programs in this CIP vary widely in scope and value, so program-specific due diligence matters more than the CIP code itself.