Curriculum and Instruction Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Curriculum and Instruction maps to BLS occupations averaging about $71,892, with roughly 36,100 workers nationwide in those roles. About 21,331 degrees completed in recent IPEDS counts; median program completion runs near 61%.
Key Statistics
Curriculum and Instruction: what the data shows
Common questions about curriculum and instruction degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a curriculum and instruction degree?
A Curriculum and Instruction program is classified under NCES CIP 13.0301 in the Curriculum and Instruction field family (13.03).
A program that focuses on the curriculum and related instructional processes and tools, and that may prepare individuals to serve as professional curriculum specialists. Includes instruction in curriculum theory, curriculum design and planning, instructional material design and evaluation, curriculum evaluation, and applications to specific subject matter, programs or educational levels
IPEDS counted 21,331 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
How long does it take to get a curriculum and instruction degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 13.0301 in our file:
- 38 Bachelor's (0.2% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 18,417 Master's (97.0% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 530 Doctorate (2.8% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a curriculum and instruction degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Curriculum and Instruction to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other | 114,640 | $48,400 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a curriculum and instruction degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Curriculum and Instruction bachelor's program family: median debt $35,522, median earnings $50,452 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 1.01.
About 1.4% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $9,739 and median net price is $18,461.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Curriculum and Instruction and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$9,739 Median In-State Public
$34,436 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Curriculum and Instruction majors are, on average, $9,739 for in-state public colleges, and $34,436 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Curriculum and Instruction programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
21,331 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Curriculum and Instruction from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Curriculum and Instruction.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 156,755 |
| 2 | Western Governors University | UT | 135,822 |
| 3 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 76,996 |
| 4 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 68,619 |
| 5 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,398 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Curriculum and Instruction programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mesa Community College | AZ | $2,358 |
| 2 | New Mexico State University-Alamogordo | NM | $2,616 |
| 3 | Texas Southmost College | TX | $3,148 |
| 4 | Sitting Bull College | ND | $4,010 |
| 5 | Western Carolina University | NC | $4,532 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Curriculum and Instruction programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas A&M University-Central Texas | TX | $1,113 |
| 2 | CUNY Hunter College | NY | $2,446 |
| 3 | Texas A & M International University | TX | $3,061 |
| 4 | Sitting Bull College | ND | $3,455 |
| 5 | California State University-Los Angeles | CA | $4,113 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Curriculum and Instruction programs.
Graduation Rates
61.16% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
60.42% Average Graduation Rate
132 Institutions Reporting
47.09% - 77.14% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Curriculum and Instruction programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Curriculum and Instruction is in MI (14 completions). That state represents about 36.8% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is MI (0.01% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| MI | 14 | 36.8% | 0.01% |
| OH | 8 | 21.1% | 0.01% |
| MA | 6 | 15.8% | 0.01% |
| WA | 5 | 13.2% | 0.01% |
| MO | 3 | 7.9% | 0.00% |
| KY | 1 | 2.6% | 0.00% |
| ND | 1 | 2.6% | 0.01% |
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 13.0301 in the survey year used in our extract (18,985 total across levels below).
- 38 Bachelor's (0.2% of IPEDS total)
- 18,417 Master's (97.0% of IPEDS total)
- 530 Doctorate (2.8% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $71,892. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Curriculum and Instruction graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other | $71,892 | 114,640 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Curriculum and Instruction CIP family (1 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Curriculum and Instruction graduate.
- $35,522 median federal loan debt among completers
- $50,452 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 1.01 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 1.4% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$71,892 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Curriculum and Instruction majors is $71,892.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Curriculum and Instruction majors.
Occupations by Share
36,100 2023 Workforce
The number of Curriculum and Instruction graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Curriculum and Instruction by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Curriculum and Instruction in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Curriculum and Instruction.
Age distribution for Curriculum and Instruction degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
38 Total Degrees Awarded
8 Male (21.05%)
30 Female (78.95%)
Gender distribution of Curriculum and Instruction degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
30 White (78.95%)
3 Hispanic or Latino (7.89%)
3 Black or African American (7.89%)
1 Asian (2.63%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Curriculum and Instruction degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Curriculum and Instruction are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Curriculum and Instruction.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Curriculum and Instruction field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Curriculum and Instruction majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Curriculum and Instruction majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Curriculum and Instruction majors.
About
A program that focuses on the curriculum and related instructional processes and tools, and that may prepare individuals to serve as professional curriculum specialists. Includes instruction in curriculum theory, curriculum design and planning, instructional material design and evaluation, curriculum evaluation, and applications to specific subject matter, programs or educational levels
In 2023, 21,331 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Curriculum and Instruction.
CIP Code
13.0301 - Curriculum and Instruction
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $35,522 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $50,452, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.01. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Curriculum and Instruction graduate.
Women earned 82.8% of 21,331 Curriculum and Instruction completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $71,892. The largest mapped role by headcount is Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other (114,640 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,739 in-state at public colleges and $34,436 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.