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Life skills teacher education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a life skills teacher. Life skills teachers usually study special education, education, or elementary education. 64% of life skills teachers hold a bachelor's degree, and 24% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 892 real life skills teacher resumes to see exactly what life skills teacher education sections show.
The most common colleges for life skills teachers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online life skills teacher courses to help get the education required to be a life skills teacher.
There are certain life skills teacher certifications that you should consider. These life skills teacher certifications include Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE) and Educational Certificate: K-12 (Ed:).
What education do you need to become a life skills teacher?
What degree do you need to be a life skills teacher?
- Bachelor's, 64%
- Master's, 24%
- Associate, 7%
- High School Diploma, 3%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become a life skills teacher?
- Special Education, 23%
- Education, 13%
- Elementary Education, 11%
- Psychology, 10%
- Other Majors, 43%
Most common colleges for life skills teachers
| Life skills teacher common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 12.50% |
| Texas A&M University | 10.29% |
| Texas State University | 9.56% |
| Prairie View A & M University | 7.35% |
| Ball State University | 5.15% |
Best majors for life skills teachers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Special Education | 23.3% |
| 2 | Education | 13.2% |
| 3 | Elementary Education | 11.4% |
| 4 | Psychology | 10.3% |
| 5 | Business | 4.2% |
Best colleges for life skills teachers
The best colleges for life skills teachers are Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, and Johns Hopkins University.
A life skills teacher with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for life skills teachers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become life skills teachers.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
4. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
6. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
7. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,207
Enrollment
30,905
8. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
9. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
10. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
In-state tuition
$49,816
Enrollment
6,840
20 best online courses for life skills teachers
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1. Music Education for Teachers
In the Music Education for Teachers specialization, you will explore ways of integrating popular music into your teaching. You'll begin by learning from two highly experienced teachers, Krystal Banfield, the Vice President of Educational Outreach for Berklee College of Music, and David Alexis a Berklee Professor and long-time instructor for the Berklee City Music Program. They will take you through their process of incorporating popular music, improvisation, arranging, and music technology into...
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3. Educational Psychology & Special Education (Certificate)
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4. Mindfulness for Life Coaching Success: Teacher Certificate
Transform Lives with Mindfulness & Meditation: Accredited Life Coach Teacher Certificate (2023)...
5. Educating Deaf Children: Becoming an Empowered Teacher
Many Deaf children around the world still leave school functionally illiterate. In some cases, there is no allowance made for the education of Deaf children at all. This 4-week course provides you with invaluable knowledge and skills about teaching Deaf children. You will learn about the importance of Deaf culture and community, the need for a language-rich environment for the Deaf child from as young as possible, and that having access to sign language can help Deaf children academically,...
6. Virtual Teacher Final Project
The Final Project will be a hands-on, comprehensive project that practitioners of virtual education can implement in their profession. For this final project, learners will draft a design plan for an online learning module utilizing materials learned from the virtual teacher series. Learners will choose the subject matter, method of delivery, tools, instructional strategies, and assessments, with the goal of creating a module of online or blended instruction that meets the needs of their...
7. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT Life Coaching Certification
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8. Outcome Based Education (OBE) & Academic Quality Assurance
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9. Instructional Methods in Health Professions Education
This course provides those involved in educating members of the health professions an asynchronous, interdisciplinary, and interactive way to obtain, expand, and improve their teaching skills. These skills can then be applied within their own professional context, with a variety of learners, extending across many stages. After completing this course, learners will: 1. Understand educational theory as it relates to health professions education 2. Match instructional methods with desired...
10. ICT in Primary Education: Transforming children's learning across the curriculum
Why and how are teachers integrating ICT (Information and Communication Technology) into primary education? In this course we analyse examples from schools in different parts of the world, and bring professional teachers, headteachers and policymakers together to share their best ideas and inspiring stories. The materials in the course are based on studies carried out for the UNESCO Institute of IT in Education, Moscow. Learning Outcomes: to be aware of the range of reasons for using ICT to...
11. Seth Godin on learning and education
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12. Group Life Coaching Certification (Accredited)
Training for life coaches who want to grow their business through offering life coaching groups...
13. Online Learning Design for Educators
This specialization is for educators seeking to improve and expand their repertoire of online teaching skills related to the design, development and delivery of effective and engaging online courses and lessons for school age and adult learners.\n\nLearning in the 21st century no longer takes place exclusively between the four walls of a physical classroom. With advances in technology, learners now expect to be offered flexible study modes outside of the traditional face-to-face model. This...
14. Advanced Instructional Strategies in the Virtual Classroom
Welcome to Advanced Instructional Strategies in the Virtual Classroom! This course will help you apply strategies to the critical areas of K-12 virtual instruction to significantly impact virtual education. We will examine the pitfalls beginning teachers run into and learn how to overcome them by focusing on the fundamentals that have the greatest impact on student learning in a blended or online environment. By the end of the course, you will be able to empower your students to be voracious...
15. TESOL Teacher Training: Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
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16. The Complete Communication Skills Master Class for Life
Communication Skills for Persuasion, Assertiveness and All Business Communication Needs...
17. The Teacher and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
Social and emotional learning, or SEL, programs have flourished in schools during the last decade. These programs vary widely but most share a concern for five individual, student competencies: self awareness; self-management; social awareness; relationship skills; and finally responsible decision making. It is important for teachers and parents to know about and understand these programs. While lots of SEL programs emphasize K-12 student social and emotional learning, only a very few programs...
18. Critical Issues in Urban Education
Urban school reform in the United States is characterized by contentious, politicized debate. This course explores a set of critical issues in the education and educational reform space, with a focus on aspects of the field that have sparked controversy and polarized views. We will dig into these debates, situating them within the larger history of public education and school reform, and considering the viewpoints, the evidence, and translation of issues into educational policy. We will...
19. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Life Coach Specialty
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20. Complete Google Certified Educator Level 1 and 2 Masterclass
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Top 10 most affordable universities for life skills teachers
The most affordable schools for life skills teachers are Baruch College of the City University of New York, hunter college of the city university of new york, and california state university - long beach.
If the best universities for life skills teachers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for life skills teachers.
1. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
2. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
3. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
4. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
5. Lehman College of the City University of New York
Bronx, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,210
Cost of attendance
14,359
6. Queens College of the City University of New York
Queens, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,338
Cost of attendance
14,281
7. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,886
Cost of attendance
17,645
8. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
9. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
10. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for life skills teachers
The hardest universities for life skills teachers to get into are Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, and Johns Hopkins University.
Some great schools for life skills teachers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for life skills teachers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
3. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
4. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
5. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
6. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
7. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
8. University of Rochester
Rochester, NY • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,422
9. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
Admissions rate
23%
SAT average
1,398
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for life skills teachers
The easiest schools for life skills teachers to get into are Barry University, gwynedd mercy university, and felician university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a life skills teacher without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for life skills teachers.
1. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
2. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
3. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
4. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
5. The University of Texas Permian Basin
Odessa, TX • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,046
6. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
7. Curry College
Milton, MA • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,026
8. College of New Rochelle, The
New Rochelle, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
982
9. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
10. Saint Martin's University
Lacey, WA • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,111
Average life skills teacher salary by education level
| Life skills teacher education level | Life skills teacher salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $46,833 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $40,062 |
| Doctorate Degree | $46,536 |
Life skills teacher education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025