Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods at Saint Mary's College

Saint Mary's education program falls short of Indiana benchmarks, sitting at the 40th percentile among in-state options—meaning 60% of Indiana teaching programs deliver better starting salaries. First-year earnings of $41,286 trail the state median by nearly $2,000, a meaningful gap when teacher pay is already modest. The $27,000 debt load hovers near both national and state averages, but paired with below-median earnings, it creates a less favorable financial picture than neighboring programs at Butler ($50,707) or IU-Bloomington ($46,765).

The 14% earnings growth to $46,956 by year four helps narrow the gap, though graduates still lag behind where many Indiana teachers start. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.65 is manageable for education majors, who typically accept lower salaries for job stability and passion for teaching. Still, parents should recognize their child would be taking on typical debt for below-typical Indiana teaching salaries.

The small sample size here matters—with fewer than 30 graduates tracked, one or two outliers could skew these figures significantly. If teaching is the goal and Saint Mary's appeals for other reasons, the financial outcome isn't disastrous. But purely from an earnings standpoint, Indiana offers stronger education programs at similar or lower price points.