Bachelor's · Tacoma, Washington

Is Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods at Pacific Lutheran 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 5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $61,266; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $71,803; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $20,758; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $88k (likely $88k – $119k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $28k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in WA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5 years (likely 3.6–7.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$27k (likely −$152k – $95k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $329k (likely $78k – $594k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 64%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26