Master's · San Luis Obispo, California

Is Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $81,009; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $111,834; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $13,731; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $15k (likely $15k – $15k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $42k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.6 years (likely 1.1–2.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $223k (likely $96k – $345k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $751k (likely $478k – $1.07M); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.