Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas at Clemson University

Clemson's teacher education program shows solid in-state performance but with an important asterisk: the data comes from fewer than 30 graduates, making these numbers less reliable than larger programs. That said, what we can see is a program that performs at the 60th percentile among South Carolina's 27 teacher education programs—firmly middle-of-the-pack—while carrying below-average debt for the state ($23,250 versus SC's $27,000 median). The earnings trajectory looks stable, with graduates moving from $40,394 to $45,406 over four years, which is typical for teaching careers with their structured pay scales.

The challenge here is value relative to Clemson's selectivity. With a 38% admission rate and average SAT of 1341, Clemson attracts strong students who could potentially access programs with better outcomes. North Greenville University, for instance, reports $43,644 in first-year earnings for its graduates—about $3,000 more annually. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.58 is manageable for a teaching career, but it's not exceptional.

For a student committed to teaching in South Carolina, this program offers reasonable preparation with controlled debt. However, given the small sample size and Clemson's premium positioning, families should carefully compare total costs against state universities like USC-Columbia, which produces similar outcomes at likely lower in-state tuition rates.