Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many curriculum & instruction graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	16,015
Doctor’s Degree	1,730
Graduate Certificate	1,434
Bachelor’s Degree	28
Basic Certificate	10

What Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to curriculum were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Curriculum Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for Curriculum Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to curriculum:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Curriculum Majors

A major in curriculum will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with curriculum:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Instructional Coordinators	10.5%	$64,450
Instructional Designers and Technologists	10.5%	$64,450

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

This is one of the most frequently chosen teaching majors. It is the 13th most popular in the country with 34 students graduating with a bachelor’s in curriculum in 2021. This major is dominated by women with about 75% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of curriculum majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	27
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	1

How Much Do Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to curriculum is $67,490. This median refers to all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to

Some careers associated with curriculum require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to curriculum have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	25.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.0%
Master’s Degree	62.4%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	6.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	2.3%
Doctoral Degree	0.1%

Online Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	2	0
Bachelor’s Degree	72	27
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	446	145
Post-Master’s	71	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	135	18
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	3	2
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	2	1

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a curriculum grad is $67,490 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 69% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $551,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to curriculum.

Major	Number of Grads
Teacher Education Grade Specific	110,770
Educational Administration	46,975
Teacher Education Subject Specific	42,343
Special Education	35,973
General Education	29,389
Student Counseling	14,506
Instructional Media Design	9,224
Teaching English or French	5,525
Other Education	4,887
Educational Assessment	3,853
Teaching Assistants	2,720
Multilingual Education	1,995
Education Philosophy	932
International Education	279

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Disarnot under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.