DOCTORAL DEGREE · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES
Is a doctoral degree in Education, General worth it?
Compare cost, debt and earnings across 36 college programs with reportable data.
Personal baseline needed
$95,543 in median year-4 earnings
A credible return for this credential must start with what the student would otherwise earn. The federal data does not provide that personal baseline.
$95,543Median year-4 earnings
$18,765Average institution net-price context
Not availableMedian federal debt
Start with your decision
What do you need to compare?
Outcomes at a glance
$95,543Typical earnings four years after completion
$95,257Average earnings five years after completion
Not availableTypical federal student debt
38thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
1,527Degrees awarded in 2024–25
36College programs reporting earnings
Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 35 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.
Four useful answers about Education, General
How much do Education, General doctoral degree graduates earn?
The national median is $95,543 four years after completion across reportable doctoral degree programs in this federal field.
How much federal debt do graduates have?
A national median federal-debt figure is not reportable for this degree in the current release.
Does the college matter for Education, General?
Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $87,043 to $105,869 in observed year-4 earnings.
What careers are related to Education, General?
DegreeVerdict links this field to 3 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.
More schooling changes both the cost and the outcome.
Compare the same field at each degree level with reportable data. These are separate groups of graduates, so the differences do not prove that an additional degree caused higher earnings.
OPEN PROFILE
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma
- Year-4 earnings
- $58,162
- Federal debt
- $14,250
- Programs in the comparison
- 2
Associate's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $42,127
- Federal debt
- $11,025
- Programs in the comparison
- 34
Bachelor's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $49,250
- Federal debt
- $26,525
- Programs in the comparison
- 88
Post-baccalaureate Certificate
- Year-4 earnings
- $60,429
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 2
Master's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $63,909
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 217
Doctoral Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $95,543
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 36
First Professional Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $83,429
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 2
Graduate/Professional Certificate
- Year-4 earnings
- $68,300
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 8
Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification)
- Year-4 earnings
- $62,656
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 12
Where the middle half of programs lands
Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.
Median
25th percentile$87,043National median$95,54375th percentile$105,869
36 programs report year‑4 earnings.BEFORE YOU CHOOSE
Compare price, debt and earnings together
SHORTLIST BY QUESTION
Three useful places to start
Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.
PRICE × EARNINGS MAP
Where colleges sit for this exact degree
Move left for a lower annual college-wide net price and up for higher observed year-4 earnings.
$125,405Observed year-4 earnings$85,991
University of California, San Diego$12,470 price · $131,358 earningsUniversity of California, Berkeley$13,481 price · $130,547 earningsHarvard University$19,066 price · $125,405 earningsStanford University$13,807 price · $125,390 earningsPurdue University-Main Campus$14,600 price · $118,149 earningsAzusa Pacific University$22,212 price · $113,252 earningsUniversity of Massachusetts-Amherst$22,383 price · $110,816 earningsLesley University$31,152 price · $107,723 earningsGeorge Mason University$17,915 price · $105,869 earningsUniversity of California, Riverside$14,304 price · $105,195 earningsUniversity of Michigan-Ann Arbor$13,138 price · $103,220 earningsUniversity of California, Irvine$14,251 price · $98,554 earningsUniversity of California, Los Angeles$12,548 price · $96,245 earningsCapella University$17,956 price · $96,095 earningsVirginia Commonwealth University$23,433 price · $95,708 earningsArizona State University Campus Immersion$14,967 price · $95,602 earningsUniversity of the Incarnate Word$22,775 price · $95,483 earningsWalden University$33,817 price · $94,881 earningsUniversity of Mississippi$13,314 price · $94,295 earningsUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill$11,655 price · $91,430 earningsUniversity of California, Santa Barbara$16,109 price · $89,989 earningsUniversity of Virginia-Main Campus$21,565 price · $89,240 earningsUniversity of Wyoming$13,599 price · $89,142 earningsUniversity of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus$30,434 price · $88,543 earningsOklahoma State University-Main Campus$17,447 price · $87,356 earningsOhio State University-Main Campus$17,339 price · $87,043 earningsUniversity of Missouri-St Louis$15,071 price · $85,991 earningsNova Southeastern University$30,371 price · $81,299 earnings
$12,470Annual college-wide average net price$30,434
Choose colleges offering this exact degree
Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.
30 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 25 shown
Search every reporting program →
See the spread, not just the national number.
1University of California, San Diego$131,3582University of California, Berkeley$130,5473Harvard University$125,4054Stanford University$125,3905Claremont Graduate University$118,3976Purdue University-Main Campus$118,1497Azusa Pacific University$113,2528University of Massachusetts-Amherst$110,8169Lesley University$107,72310George Mason University$105,869Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking
Jobs this degree may lead to
Federal education-to-career links identify related occupations. They do not imply that every graduate enters the same job.
Education Teachers, Postsecondary$75,350 median wage60,830 jobs nationwide+2.5% projected growth through 2035 · 5,300 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$39,530–$126,860 typical wage rangeTeaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special EducationUnreported jobs nationwideTeaching Assistants, Special EducationUnreported jobs nationwide
BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.
Where this degree has enough data to compare
State pages are published only when at least five operating colleges report year-4 earnings for this exact field and credential.
This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.