Teacher education requirements

Q: What degree do you need to be a teacher?

You need a bachelor's degree to be a teacher. You have some choices, however, on what degrees or certifications you need to obtain to become a teacher, depending on how much experience you have and what type of teacher you want to become.

Q: What job can you get with a child development degree?

You could get a job as a juvenile court judge or probation officer with a child development degree. There are many different jobs that you can get with a child development degree. Some positions include working as a: Daycare teacher Preschool teacher Social worker

Q: What job can you get with a teaching degree?

You can get a job as a teacher, in a business profession, or in the government and nonprofit sectors with a teaching degree. Having a teaching degree opens up a world of opportunities that extend far beyond teaching.

Q: What major do you need to become a teacher?

You need a bachelor's degree in education to become a teacher. Most employers expect continued education into master's and beyond, but you can get your career started with a bachelor's degree.

Q: What to major in to become a teacher.

To become a teacher, you need to major in education. Most employers expect continued education into master's and beyond, but you can get your career started with a bachelor's degree. To become a teacher you must at least obtain a bachelor's degree in education from an accredited program. You can focus on areas such as early childhood and special education as well. You could also specialize in science, history, or art. Candidates will often minor in one of these areas.

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a teacher. Teachers usually study elementary education, education, or english. 64% of teachers hold a bachelor's degree, and 15% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 372,826 real teacher resumes to see exactly what teacher education sections show.

The most common colleges for teachers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online teacher courses to help get the education required to be a teacher.

There are certain teacher certifications that you should consider. These teacher certifications include Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE).

What education do you need to become a teacher?

What degree do you need to be a teacher?

The most common degree for teachers is bachelor's degree, with 64% of teachers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 15% and master's degree degree at 10%.

Bachelor's, 64%

Master's, 15%

Associate, 10%

High School Diploma, 6%

Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become a teacher?

You should major in elementary education to become a teacher. 16% of teachers major in elementary education. Other common majors for a teacher include education and english.

Elementary Education, 16%

Education, 14%

English, 10%

Psychology, 8%

Other Majors, 52%

Most common colleges for teachers

Teachers often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Florida State University, and Arizona State University. Here are the most common colleges for teachers in the US based on their resumes.

Teacher common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	12.21%
Florida State University	6.48%
Arizona State University	5.56%
University of Central Florida	5.12%
University of South Florida	5.07%

Show more common teacher colleges

Best majors for teachers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Elementary Education	16.0%
2	Education	13.9%
3	English	9.5%
4	Psychology	7.5%
5	Early Childhood Education	7.5%

Show more common teacher majors

Best colleges for teachers

The best colleges for teachers are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Vanderbilt University.

A 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 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 teachers.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

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. Brown University

Providence, RI • Private

In-state tuition

$55,466

Enrollment

6,752

10. SUNY at Buffalo

Buffalo, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$10,099

Enrollment

21,404

20 best online courses for teachers

Advertising disclosure

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...

2. 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,...

3. Educational Psychology & Special Education (Certificate)

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4. Excel at Teaching English: Be a Better ESL Teacher

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Increase Understanding, Increase Productivity, Increase Teacher and Learner Satisfaction...

5. 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...

6. 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...

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8. Preparation for CELTA Teacher Training

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9. THINK GLOBAL: TEACHERS TRAINING COURSE (IDP-ICE)

A group of seven European partners from Catalonia, Belgium, and Wales worked together on the Erasmus+ funded ‘Think Global’ project on global competence. The project seeks to address the following research question through development and piloting of practical classroom activities: What is global competence, and how can it be learned effectively? The Think Global project explores, through international collaboration, how global competence is defined, taught, learned, and measured in the...

10. Teach English: Intermediate Grammar

This specialization is for ESL teachers and future ESL teachers who want to make their classes more effective and fun. You will learn how to use online videos and activities that ESL teachers at University of California, Irvine created to teach intermediate ESL learners. You will review language-learning pedagogy and best practices for using these resources effectively. This specialization will give any ESL teacher loads of creative ideas for their classrooms...

11. Implementing Positive Behaviour Management in the Classroom

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Practical Strategies to Address Behaviour Issues in any Classroom...

12. Mindfulness for Life Coaching Success: Teacher Certificate

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Transform Lives with Mindfulness & Meditation: Accredited Life Coach Teacher Certificate (2023)...

13. Activity Design with PhET Simulations for STEM Education

PhET Interactive Simulations ( https://phet.colorado.edu/ ), a project of the University of Colorado Boulder, provides fun, free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations for use across, primary, secondary, and higher education levels. We extensively test and evaluate each simulation to ensure educational effectiveness. All simulations are open source and free to all students and teachers. In this course, we will review strategies for how to use PhET to create sim-based...

14. Teaching Impacts of Technology in K-12 Education

2% That’s the estimate of how many high school students in all of California took a Computer Science class in 2015. And yet, computers and data are everywhere. Just consider a typical 24 hours in your life … how many different computer devices do you use? We all live in multiple digital worlds that are changing rapidly with new apps, devices, and data analyses offering a constant stream of innovations and technology integrations for our lives.\n\nAs it's an integral part of our lives, we’re...

15. TESOL - Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages

4.6

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Teaching Skills and Classroom Management...

16. Outcome Based Education (OBE) & Academic Quality Assurance

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Master Course for Teachers' Development: Grow Your Teaching-Learning Expertise to World-Class Level...

17. ELL Success in the Content Classroom: Teacher Toolbox Series

Plan lessons, activities and assessment with the ELL in mind, and create an engaging and welcoming environment for the ELL and their families.\n\nThis Specialization covers lesson planning and assessing with the ELL in mind as well as engaging the ELL student and their families in the school and community. In the final Capstone Project, you’ll apply the skills you learned by creating an annotated lesson plan and assessment with appropriate modifications for the ELL students. You will also...

18. Teaching with Google Classroom

4.9

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Learn how to create, use, and teach creative, memorable lessons using Google Classroom...

19. My Google Classroom: Google Classroom Made Easy to Beginners

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Master Google Classroom: Discover How to Successfully Setup and Start Teaching With Google Classroom in Minutes!...

20. Complete Google Classroom Course: Teaching Google Classroom

4.3

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Mastering the Art of Teaching with Google Classroom - Teaching Online with Google Classroom - Google Certified Educator...

Top 10 most affordable universities for teachers

The most affordable schools for 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 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 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. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

9. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

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 teachers

The hardest universities for teachers to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Vanderbilt University.

Some great schools for 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 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

SAT average

1,508

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

3. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

4. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,520

5. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

6. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

7. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

8. Brown University

Providence, RI • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

9. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,512

10. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for teachers

The easiest schools for teachers to get into are Gwynedd Mercy University, barry university, and felician university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a 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 teachers.

1. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

2. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

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. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

6. The University of Texas Permian Basin

Odessa, TX • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,046

7. College of New Rochelle, The

New Rochelle, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

982

8. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

9. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

10. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

Average teacher salary by education level

Teachers with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $57,264 annually. With a Doctorate degree, teachers earn a median annual income of $56,767 compared to $46,211 for teachers with an Bachelor's degree.

Teacher education level	Teacher salary
Master's Degree	$57,264
Bachelor's Degree	$46,211
Doctorate Degree	$56,767

Teacher education FAQs

What degree do you need to be a teacher?

What job can you get with a child development degree?

What job can you get with a teaching degree?

What major do you need to become a teacher?

What to major in to become a teacher.

What is the best college for Teachers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common education, training, and library questions.

Search for teacher jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Updated January 8, 2025

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