How to choose a bachelor's in education

A bachelor's degree in education from an accredited program is required for teaching in public schools. If your dream is to become a teacher, you should consider earning this degree.

Learn about what factors to consider when choosing a bachelor's in education program so you can select one that best aligns with your academic and career goals.

Guide to choosing a bachelor's degree in education

There are several important factors you should think about when choosing a bachelor's in education program, such as:

Accreditation

Any school you're thinking of attending needs to have institutional accreditation from an organization that is approved by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). This is necessary for you to be eligible for federal financial aid and also ensures that your credits will be transferable should you need to transfer to a different school at some point in time.

In addition to institutional accreditation for your school, the program you're attending within it needs to have programmatic accreditation, and the primary programmatic accreditor for educator preparation programs (EPPs) is the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). If you want to obtain teaching licensure, your bachelor of education program must have accreditation from the CAEP.

To find out if a bachelor of education program is recognized by the CAEP, go to the Accredited Provider and Recognized Program Search page on the CAEP website. Click on the Accredited Provider Search tab, and then click your state (the state where you want to teach). This will show you a list of accredited program providers.

Your bachelor of education program also needs state accreditation if you want to be eligible for teaching licensure. This accreditation must be from the state in which you want to teach.

The educational requirements for teaching licensure vary from state to state. Make sure that you find out the requirements in the state where you want to work as a teacher. Ensure that your bachelor of education program is recognized in that state.

Find out what organization accredits teacher education in your state and make sure that it recognizes your program. For example, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing accredits teacher education programs in California.

Available specializations and concentrations

Many bachelor's in education programs offer the chance to choose a specialization or concentration. Some common specializations relate to grade level. For example, you could specialize in elementary, middle, or high school education.

Some programs offer other specialization options too. Other concentrations include special education, early childhood education, curriculum development, higher education, school counseling, and educational psychology.

If you want to teach elementary school, you should look for a bachelor's in education program that will let you specialize in the elementary grades. If you want to teach high school, you should look for a bachelor of education degree that allows you to specialize in high school, including the specific subject(s) you want to teach.

Cost/financial aid

Completing a bachelor's degree program usually involves significant financial costs. It's important to find out about all the tuition and other costs that you may need to cover if you plan on pursuing a degree at a particular school.

Tuition varies from program to program and from school to school. You may pay significantly more if you're completing the project from out of state. However, if you want to take a program that is out of state, you may get a significant discount if you enroll in the online option (if available).

Student teaching

Your bachelor of education program should include requirements or opportunities for you to do student teaching. Learn everything you can about your program's student teaching requirements.

If you're doing an online bachelor of education program, remember that you may need to do your student teaching in person. Make sure that you're able to arrange to do your student teaching in locations that are accessible to you. If you want to get hired as a teacher for a public school in the future, you may be required to have student teaching experience.