Curriculum & Instruction

Types of Degrees Curriculum & Instruction Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many curriculum and instruction graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	16,825
Graduate Certificate	1,525
Doctor’s Degree	1,434

What Curriculum & Instruction Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to curriculum 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 Curriculum Majors

Curriculum majors often go into careers in which the following 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

When studying curriculum, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• 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 Curriculum & Instruction 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 Master’s Degree in Curriculum & Instruction?

This is one of the most frequently chosen graduate majors. It is the 13th most popular in the country with 16,825 students graduating with a master’s in curriculum in 2021. The major attracts more women than men. About 82% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	460
Black or African American	1,211
Hispanic or Latino	1,756
White	11,218
International Students	418
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,762

Geographic Diversity

Curriculum appeals to people across the globe. About 2.5% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• India

How Much Do Curriculum & Instruction Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction made a median starting salary of $48,271 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $44,452 (25th percentile) and $51,408 (75th percentile).

One thing to note here is that not all of these people may be working in careers related to curriculum.

Salaries According to BLS

Curriculum majors often go into careers with median salaries of $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 Curriculum & Instruction

Some degrees associated with curriculum 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.

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 Curriculum & Instruction Programs

In 2020-2021, 491 schools offered a curriculum program of some type. 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	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	68	27
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	434	136
Post-Master’s	68	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	135	17
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	2	1

Is a Degree in Curriculum & Instruction 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 Curriculum & Instruction

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

Major	Number of Grads
Educational Administration	45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific	34,451
Special Education	25,158
General Education	21,189
Teacher Education Subject Specific	20,616
Student Counseling	13,840
Instructional Media Design	8,387
Teaching English or French	4,743
Other Education	2,513
Multilingual Education	1,672
Educational Assessment	1,215
Education Philosophy	421
International Education	257
Teaching Assistants	20

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.