Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas at University of Rhode Island

URI's teacher education program starts its graduates at a notably low salary—$32,184, which is $6,000 below the already-modest Rhode Island median and ranks in just the 13th percentile nationally. Even within Rhode Island's five teacher prep programs, this lands in the 25th percentile. The debt load of $23,250 isn't catastrophic, but when measured against that first-year salary, you're looking at a debt burden that eats up 72% of annual income. Rhode Island College, the state's primary alternative, launches its graduates at $44,789—nearly $13,000 more.

The strong earnings growth tells a more encouraging story: by year four, graduates reach $48,074, which actually exceeds both state and national medians. That 49% jump suggests teachers in this program eventually catch up as they gain experience and move up salary schedules. However, those first few years earning in the low-$30,000s create real financial stress, especially for graduates carrying debt.

For parents, the question is whether your child can manage three to four years of below-market earnings while their loans accrue interest. If they're committed to teaching in Rhode Island and plan to stay in the profession long enough to benefit from that back-loaded salary growth, the program works out reasonably well. But if your child has the option to attend Rhode Island College instead—or needs stronger early earnings to manage debt—the $13,000 first-year salary difference matters enormously when you're budgeting for rent and loan payments.