Graduate certificate · Macon, Georgia

Is Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods at Mercer University worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

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

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 3.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $76,173; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: Not enough graduates to report; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $34,540; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $37k (likely $37k – $37k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $18k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in GA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 3.7 years (likely 2.1–9.9); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $55k (likely −$67k – $203k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $248k (likely −$10k – $559k); Today's dollars

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