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Volunteer teacher education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a volunteer teacher. Volunteer teachers usually study psychology, business, or english. 61% of volunteer teachers hold a bachelor's degree, and 12% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 6,726 real volunteer teacher resumes to see exactly what volunteer teacher education sections show.

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

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

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

What education do you need to become a volunteer teacher?

What degree do you need to be a volunteer teacher?

The most common degree for volunteer teachers is bachelor's degree, with 61% of volunteer teachers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 12% and associate degree degree at 12%.
  • Bachelor's, 61%
  • Associate, 12%
  • Master's, 12%
  • High School Diploma, 9%
  • Other Degrees, 6%

What should I major in to become a volunteer teacher?

You should major in psychology to become a volunteer teacher. 12% of volunteer teachers major in psychology. Other common majors for a volunteer teacher include business and english.

Most common colleges for volunteer teachers

Volunteer teachers often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Brigham Young University. Here are the most common colleges for volunteer teachers in the US based on their resumes.
Volunteer teacher common collegePercentages
University of Phoenix8.79%
University of California, Santa Barbara6.84%
Brigham Young University6.51%
New York University6.19%
University of Washington6.19%

Best majors for volunteer teachers

RankMajorPercentages
1Psychology12.0%
2Business11.4%
3English8.6%
4Elementary Education8.1%
5Education6.7%

Best colleges for volunteer teachers

The best colleges for volunteer teachers are Northwestern University, Stanford University, and Johns Hopkins University.

A volunteer 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 volunteer 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 volunteer teachers.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

2. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

4. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

6. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

7. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

8. SUNY at Albany

Albany, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$10,011

Enrollment

13,434

9. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

10. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

20 best online courses for volunteer teachers

Advertising disclosure

1. Educating Deaf Children: Becoming an Empowered Teacher

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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,...

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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...

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13. Azure - Active Directory

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14. Mindfulness for Life Coaching Success: Teacher Certificate

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15. SAP Activate Project Manager Masterclass (C_ACTIVATE_22/13)

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17. Mindfulness Teacher Training Certificate

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18. TOTAL: Active Directory with Windows Server 2016

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Identity, Access, and Authentication with Microsoft AD and Identity with Windows Server 2016...

19. Implementing Positive Behaviour Management in the Classroom

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

20. Identity & Access Management - Azure Active Directory

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Learn about Identity, Directory , SAML , OAUTH , Open ID Connect , Identity Security and Azure Active Directory...

Top 10 most affordable universities for volunteer teachers

The most affordable schools for volunteer teachers are Baruch College of the City University of New York, california state university - bakersfield, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for volunteer 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 volunteer 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. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

4. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

5. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

6. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

7. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

8. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

9. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

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 volunteer teachers

The hardest universities for volunteer teachers to get into are Northwestern University, Stanford University, and Johns Hopkins University.

Some great schools for volunteer 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 volunteer 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. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

3. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

4. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

5. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

6. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

7. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

8. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

9. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

10. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

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

The easiest schools for volunteer teachers to get into are Notre Dame de Namur University, bluefield college, and oklahoma wesleyan university.

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

1. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

2. Bluefield College

Bluefield, VA • Private

Admissions rate

95%

SAT average

980

3. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

4. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

5. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

6. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

7. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

8. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

9. Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,017

10. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

Average volunteer teacher salary by education level

According to our data, volunteer teachers with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $36,766 annually. Volunteer teachers with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $36,033.
Volunteer teacher education levelVolunteer teacher salary
Master's Degree$36,033
High School Diploma or Less$32,244
Bachelor's Degree$33,460
Doctorate Degree$36,766
Some College/ Associate Degree$32,620

Volunteer teacher education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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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