undergradly.
Major · Education

Preparing tomorrow's readers and thinkers: what elementary education actually looks like as a career

Elementary Education and Teaching prepares you to teach kindergarten through grade eight, covering the full curriculum — literacy, math, science, and social studies — not a single subject. With over 31,000 degrees awarded annually across more than 1,100 colleges, it is one of the most widely offered teacher preparation programs in the country.

Schools offering
1,148
Annual completions
31,672
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$46k

About this major

Elementary education as a formal major is explicitly vocational in its orientation — more so than almost any other undergraduate program. The CIP definition describes it plainly: a program that prepares individuals to teach students in the elementary grades, covering all elementary education subject matter. You don't choose a subject to specialize in; you prepare to teach all of them at an age-appropriate level, from literacy and arithmetic in kindergarten through science, social studies, and language arts in fifth or sixth grade. Coursework covers teaching methodology for each subject area, child development theory, assessment techniques, classroom management, and how to adapt instruction for students at different levels of readiness.

The structure of the program has a practical logic: because states require a teaching license to work as an elementary school teacher, the major is built around meeting licensure requirements. Student teaching — a full-semester placement in a real classroom — is a required component of every accredited program, not an optional internship. The degree exists at both the associate's and bachelor's level, but the associate's primarily functions as a transfer pathway, not a terminal credential; every U.S. state requires a bachelor's degree as the baseline for an elementary teaching license.

By volume, this is a large and broadly available major. Over 31,000 degrees are awarded annually across more than 1,148 colleges, placing it among the more common bachelor's-level programs in the country. Western Governors University leads in completions at 1,612, followed by Grand Canyon University (821) and Liberty University (348). The scale of the pipeline reflects both the steady demand for licensed teachers and the fact that many students enter this field with a clear career target in mind — which makes it atypical among undergraduate majors in how directly it connects coursework to a specific licensed role.

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
Elementary school teachers, except special education $62k -2.0% 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

$46k

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

Associate's

$38k

Bachelor's

$48k

Who this major is for

You may be well matched to this major if you can picture yourself standing in a classroom of twenty-five eight-year-olds and feeling engaged rather than overwhelmed — if working with children at the point where they're learning to read and reason feels genuinely compelling, not just generically worthwhile. The major rewards people who can organize and explain across multiple subjects, hold a room's attention, and adjust when a lesson isn't landing. A comfort with structure and routine helps; elementary teaching follows a more predictable daily rhythm than most professional roles.

The data presents a clear-eyed picture that's worth taking seriously before you enroll. The five-year median for this major sits at $46,418, with bachelor's completers averaging closer to $48,274 — lower than most professional degree programs that require a four-year credential. The primary career destination, elementary school teacher, shows a projected job growth rate of -2%, meaning national employment is expected to contract slightly rather than grow. That doesn't mean teaching jobs will disappear, and real shortages exist in specific regions, grade levels, and specializations — but if you're coming in expecting a growing labor market, the headline number is a useful check.

Think twice if you're drawn to education as a concept but haven't spent significant time with children in structured settings — substitute teaching, tutoring, or camp counseling will surface the gap between the idea and the daily reality faster than any course will. Think twice, too, if geographic flexibility is limited; teacher job markets vary enormously by state and district, and restricting yourself to a single metro area narrows your options considerably. And if your primary concern is earnings growth over time, know that teacher compensation is driven by collective bargaining and public budgets more than individual performance or market demand — the ceiling is real and structured. Early Childhood Education, Special Education, or Secondary Education may be worth comparing if you want a related path with different tradeoffs.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Elementary Education and Teaching

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

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Western Governors University Salt Lake City, UT 0 1,612 1,612
Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ 0 821 821
Liberty University Lynchburg, VA 0 348 348
Illinois State University Normal, IL 0 320 320
Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ 0 313 313
University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 0 292 292
University of Central Florida Orlando, FL 0 268 268
Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ 0 241 241
Wichita State University Wichita, KS 0 222 222
Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS 0 214 214
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Early Childhood Education and Teaching

19,347 completions/yr

Special Education and Teaching, General

5,456 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

Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching

2,213 completions/yr

Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching

1,867 completions/yr

Education/Teaching of Individuals in Elementary Special Education Programs

589 completions/yr

Considering this direction?

We've taken a hard look at the debt, earnings trajectory, and degree-level tradeoffs for the Elementary Education and Teaching field. Read our verdict before you commit.

Is Elementary Education and Teaching worth it? Read verdict
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do elementary education majors actually study day-to-day?
The curriculum blends child development theory with subject-matter content and a lot of supervised practice. You'll take courses in literacy instruction, elementary mathematics, social studies methods, and science education — plus coursework in child psychology and classroom management. Field placements start early in most programs, with full student teaching in a real classroom during your final year. It's more procedural and applied than most liberal arts curricula, and the student teaching semester is typically demanding in the same way a clinical rotation is: you're responsible for real students, under supervision, with performance evaluations that can affect your recommendation for licensure.
Do I need a bachelor's, or is an associate's enough for elementary education?
In practice, you need a bachelor's to become a licensed elementary school teacher in every U.S. state. The associate's degree in elementary education exists primarily as a transfer pathway — it gets you two years of the coursework before you move to a four-year institution to complete your degree and student teaching. The earnings data reflects this: bachelor's graduates in this field report a five-year median of about $48,274, while associate's completers show about $38,454. The associate's number largely represents people who haven't yet completed the degree required for a teaching license, not people working as fully credentialed teachers.
What jobs do elementary education graduates end up in?
The dominant path is elementary school teacher, where the median wage sits at $62,340 annually. The major maps more directly to a single occupation than almost any other field — if you graduate and get licensed, you're competing for K–8 teaching positions. A smaller number of graduates eventually move into postsecondary education roles, which show a 2.1% projected growth rate and a $72,090 median wage, but those roles typically require graduate credentials well beyond a bachelor's. Principals and instructional coordinators are common longer-term career moves, but those paths usually require years of classroom experience and an additional master's degree.
How is the job market for elementary school teachers right now?
The data shows a projected decline of -2% for elementary school teachers, meaning the occupation is expected to shed jobs rather than add them nationally over the coming years. That's a notable contrast to most education press coverage, which often emphasizes teacher shortages. Both things can be true simultaneously: shortages in specific subjects (special education, bilingual education), specific grade levels, and specific regions coexist with an overall slight national contraction driven by enrollment trends. If you're willing to be geographically flexible or are targeting an underserved area or subject specialty, the labor market picture looks considerably better than the aggregate number suggests.
Is the earnings picture in elementary education honest about the tradeoffs?
Yes, and it's worth sitting with directly. The five-year median across degree levels is $46,418 — among the lower outcomes for a bachelor's-required field. That reflects teacher compensation more than anything about the major itself: public school teacher salaries are set by government budgets, collective bargaining agreements, and district funding, not by market demand for skills. The gap between associate's and bachelor's earners ($38,454 vs. $48,274) is smaller here than in most technical fields, and that's largely because most people earning below the bachelor's level haven't completed the credential required to work as a licensed teacher. The ROI picture depends heavily on your state, district, benefits, and whether you expect to stay in the classroom or eventually move into administration.
Is elementary education the right fit, or should I look at a related major?
If your interest is specifically the K–8 classroom and all its subjects, this is the right major — it is the direct path to licensure for that role. If you're drawn to younger children specifically, Early Childhood Education (about 19,347 completions per year) targets pre-K through early elementary and is worth comparing. If you're interested in working with children who have learning differences, Special Education and Teaching, General (about 5,456 completions) leads to a separate teaching license that is currently in higher demand. If you want to teach older students in a specific subject, Secondary Education and Teaching (about 4,057 completions) is the parallel track for middle and high school. The career destinations across these majors don't overlap much — each leads to a distinct licensed role — so the choice is more about age group and population than about job competition.