Physical Education Teaching

Types of Degrees Physical Education Teaching Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many physical education teaching & coaching graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	4,666
Master’s Degree	1,554
Basic Certificate	304
Associate Degree	199
Graduate Certificate	99
Undergraduate Certificate	47
Doctor’s Degree	32

What Physical Education Teaching Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to physical education teaching and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Physical Education Teaching 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.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• 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.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Physical Education Teaching Majors

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

• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• 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.

Abilities for Physical Education Teaching Majors

Physical Education Teaching majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Physical Education Teaching Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with physical education teaching:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Coaches and Scouts	12.9%	$33,780
Education Professors	10.3%	$64,780
Fitness Trainers and Aerobics Instructors	10.0%	$39,820
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$58,600
Recreation and Fitness Studies Professors	9.7%	$62,620
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$60,320

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education Teaching?

This major attracts more men than women. About 56% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of physical education teaching majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	98
Black or African American	717
Hispanic or Latino	545
White	2,930
International Students	71
Other Races/Ethnicities	305

Geographic Diversity

Physical Education Teaching appeals to people across the globe. About 1.5% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Physical Education Teaching

Some degrees associated with physical education teaching may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for physical education teaching careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.7%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.6%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	5.1%
Some College Courses	1.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	7.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	37.3%
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.	6.0%
Master’s Degree	16.0%
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.	1.3%
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.	0.6%
Doctoral Degree	22.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.0%

Online Physical Education Teaching 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)	13	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	38	3
Bachelor’s Degree	31	8
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	132	25
Post-Master’s	5	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	9	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Physical Education Teaching

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to physical education teaching.

Major	Number of Grads
Reading Teacher Education	5,922
Music Education	4,649
Mathematics Education	3,159
English & Language Arts Education	3,104
Other Teacher Education & Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	2,398
Social Studies Education	1,955
Art Education	1,711
Health Education	1,536
Science Education	1,133
Agricultural Teacher Education	1,132
History Education	834
Trade & Industrial Teacher Education	778
Biology Education	773
Social Science Teacher Education	503
Technology Education	464
School Librarian/School Library Media Specialist	401
Spanish Education	373
Modern Language Education	349
Technical Teacher Education	307
Computer Teacher Education	291
Family & Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher Education	253
Chemistry Education	225
Drama & Dance Education	223
Business and Innovation/Entrepreneurship Teacher Education	153
Earth Science Teacher Education	114
Physics Education	113
Environmental Education	96
Health Occupations Teacher Education	74
Speech Teacher Education	65
Driver & Safety Teacher Education	49
French Language Teacher Education	25
Communication Arts and Literature Teacher Education	9
German Language Teacher Education	8
Distributive Education	7
Latin Teacher Education	6
Psychology Teacher Education	6
Geography Teacher Education	2

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 Aparajita Datta under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.