Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods at Marywood University

With just $27,000 in debt and a 0.70 debt-to-earnings ratio, Marywood's education program gets the financial fundamentals right—graduates carry typical debt for Pennsylvania education majors but come out owing significantly less than the national median. The challenge lies in the earnings: first-year graduates make $38,598, roughly $4,200 below Pennsylvania's median for the same degree and $3,200 below the national benchmark. That places this program in the 40th percentile statewide, meaning most comparable Pennsylvania programs produce stronger initial earnings, with top programs like Lebanon Valley and Elizabethtown starting teachers around $50,000.

The small sample size here (under 30 graduates) matters—a few outliers could skew these numbers either way. Still, the pattern suggests Marywood graduates may enter lower-paying districts or face tougher initial job placements than peers from programs like Temple or Drexel, which launch teachers at $47,000-$50,000. For teaching specifically, where salaries follow rigid union scales, that $4,000-$12,000 gap often reflects district wealth rather than teacher quality, but it compounds over a career.

For families committed to teaching as a career path, the manageable debt makes this workable—you're looking at roughly 7-8 years to pay off loans on an income-based plan. Just understand your child may need to cast a wider geographic net for higher-paying districts, or accept that entry-level earnings will trail state averages until they gain seniority.