Special Education and Teaching at Concordia University-Wisconsin

Concordia's special education program outperforms most of its peers, with first-year earnings of $47,295 placing it in the 69th percentile nationally and 60th in Wisconsin—above both the national median ($44,139) and state median ($46,978). The estimated $27,000 debt burden, derived from comparable programs at similar private institutions, translates to a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.57, meaning graduates would owe roughly seven months of their first-year salary. That's a manageable picture for a teaching credential where earnings are relatively stable and predictable.

What makes this outcome particularly solid is the context: special education teachers are in high demand across Wisconsin, and Concordia's graduates are earning within striking distance of larger public universities like UW-Whitewater ($47,592) and Carroll University ($46,661). The gap to top-performing UW-Madison ($50,174) exists but isn't dramatic. Similar programs across Wisconsin typically produce debt loads around $26,688, suggesting the estimated figure here is realistic for this market.

For parents, this represents a straightforward value proposition—a teaching credential that leads to employment with manageable debt relative to starting salary. The real question is whether your child is committed to special education specifically, since these earnings are tied to a clearly defined career path with limited flexibility to pivot. If that's the plan, the numbers work.