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Major · Education

A bachelor’s pipeline into K-12 health-education teaching

Health Teacher Education (CIP 13.1307) prepares students to teach health education in middle and high schools. About 848 students complete it across 101 institutions, with bachelor’s graduates earning around $51,376 in tracked five-year wages.

Schools offering
101
Annual completions
848
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$50k

About this major

Health Teacher Education (CIP 13.1307) is a focused bachelor’s teacher-prep major preparing students to teach health education at middle-school and high-school levels. The CIP definition is brief — programs that prepare individuals to teach health education at various educational levels — but coursework blends teacher-prep methods (curriculum design, classroom management, assessment, educational psychology) with content knowledge in health (nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, substance-use prevention, mental health, exercise physiology, public health basics). Programs typically include classroom-observation hours and a full student-teaching placement in a middle or high school health classroom, with state-required content and pedagogy exams (often Praxis) as part of certification.

The major fits students drawn to working with adolescents and young adults on the topics that matter for lifelong health, comfortable holding sometimes-sensitive conversations (sexual health, substance use, mental health) within a classroom curriculum, and willing to commit to the bachelor’s-plus-state-certification credentialing path. It rewards strong communication, the patience to teach the same concepts to different cohorts year after year, and the steady judgment required to navigate parent, district, and community expectations around health-education content.

One grounded observation about scale, school mix, and labor-market direction: 848 students complete this CIP across 101 institutions, with Virginia Commonwealth University alone producing 278 graduates (33% of national output) through its established Health Education and Promotion program. New Mexico (71), Indiana University Bloomington (61), UNLV (52), Utah State (45), Illinois State, SUNY Brockport, and Eastern Illinois round out the top tier — predominantly large public state schools with established teacher-prep pipelines. Bachelor’s graduates earn $51,376 in five-year tracked wages, in line with early-career K-12 teaching pay across most US states. The named labor-market destinations show projected decline: secondary school teachers (-1.6%) and middle school teachers (-2%) reflect overall enrollment-decline trends, with health education specifically vulnerable to district-level budget pressure. Adjacent named CIP Physical Education Teaching and Coaching (13.1314, 4,787 completions) is six times larger and often combined with Health Education in K-12 hiring through dual certification.

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
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

You may thrive here if you’re drawn to working with adolescents on the topics that matter for lifelong health (nutrition, sexual health, substance prevention, mental health, exercise) and comfortable holding sometimes-sensitive classroom conversations within a state-approved curriculum, you’re committing to the bachelor’s-plus-state-certification credentialing path and confirming your program is licensure-approved in your target state, you’re considering pairing Health certification with PE certification (or with another subject) to broaden hiring flexibility, you’re realistic that the named K-12 destinations show projected decline (-1.6% to -2%) and that targeting growing-state districts (Texas, Florida, parts of the Southwest) matters, and the $51,376 bachelor’s wage matches your expectations for early-career teaching pay.

Think twice if your interest is health content broadly rather than K-12 teaching specifically — public-health degree paths (Public Health, General CIP 51.2207, or Health Education and Promotion CIP 51.2207 variants) feed community-health and health-promotion roles that pay similarly without requiring teacher certification or classroom work. Reconsider if your target market doesn’t hire standalone Health Education teachers — many districts combine the role with PE, so dual certification through Physical Education Teaching and Coaching (CIP 13.1314, 4,787 completions) often offers more durable hiring flexibility. Also pause if your eventual goal is postsecondary teaching; that path requires a doctoral degree and tenure-track competition is steep.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Health Teacher Education

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

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA 0 278 278
University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM 0 71 71
Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN 0 61 61
University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV 0 52 52
Utah State University Logan, UT 0 45 45
Northern Oklahoma College Tonkawa, OK 34 0 34
Illinois State University Normal, IL 0 27 27
SUNY Brockport Brockport, NY 0 23 23
Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL 0 23 23
Utah Valley University Orem, UT 0 23 23
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

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

Mathematics Teacher Education

1,090 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Health Teacher Education majors actually study?
The CIP definition is brief — programs that prepare individuals to teach health education at various educational levels — but in practice coursework blends teacher-prep methods (curriculum design, classroom management, assessment, educational psychology) with content knowledge in health (nutrition, sexual health, substance-use prevention, mental health, exercise physiology, public health basics). Programs typically include observation hours and a full student-teaching placement in a middle or high school health classroom.
What jobs do graduates land — and at what pay?
Named destinations are secondary school teachers ($64,580, -1.6% growth, bachelor’s plus state cert typical) and middle school teachers ($62,970, -2% growth, bachelor’s plus cert). Postsecondary education teachers ($72,090, 2.1% growth) require a doctoral degree. Realistic destinations also include community-health educator, school-health-program coordinator, and health-promotion roles at nonprofits or public-health agencies. Bachelor’s graduates earn $51,376 in five-year tracked wages — in line with early-career K-12 teaching pay across most US states.
Why are the named teaching jobs projected to decline?
Secondary school teachers (-1.6%) and middle school teachers (-2%) reflect overall enrollment-decline trends — slowing US K-12 student counts in many states reduce hiring needs broadly. Health education specifically can also be vulnerable to school-level budget pressure (often combined with PE faculty, sometimes cut as a standalone subject in budget-constrained districts). The decline isn’t catastrophic, but it’s real. Districts in growing states (Texas, Florida, parts of the Southwest) and underserved regions still hire actively; check state and district trends in your target market.
Do I still need state certification?
Yes, in every state, for public-school teaching. State licensure is the actual job gate — earned by completing an approved teacher-prep program (with student teaching), passing state-required content and pedagogy exams (often Praxis), and applying for the license in your target state. Certification requirements differ by state, and not every Health Teacher Education program is licensure-approved in every state — check explicitly that your program is state-approved for the state where you intend to teach. Private schools sometimes hire without certification; charter rules vary.
Why does Virginia Commonwealth University dominate the school list?
VCU produces 278 graduates — roughly 33% of national completions — through a strong, well-established Health Education and Promotion program at its School of Education. New Mexico (71), Indiana University Bloomington (61), UNLV (52), Utah State (45), Northern Oklahoma College (34, associate’s), Illinois State (27), SUNY Brockport (23), Eastern Illinois (23), and Utah Valley (23) round out the top tier. Most are large public state schools with established teacher-prep pipelines. Choose a program with strong placement support in your target state — the field rewards regional employer relationships.
How does this compare to Physical Education Teaching and Coaching?
Physical Education Teaching and Coaching (CIP 13.1314, 4,787 completions) is roughly six times larger and often combined with Health Education in K-12 hiring — many districts hire PE/Health combined teachers and require dual certification. Choose Physical Education if you’re drawn primarily to coaching and movement education and want broader hiring flexibility. Choose Health Teacher Education if your focus is health-content teaching specifically and you’re considering community-health-education or public-health-promotion roles alongside K-12 work. Some programs offer combined PE/Health certification — that’s often the most flexible path.