Best Associate's in Trade and Industrial Teacher Education Programs in 2026
All 2 programs reviewed from the IPEDS database, ranked on graduation rate, affordability, and more. CIP 13.1320.
- In-state tuition typically runs from $2,940 to $7,716 a year, with a median near $5,328.
- 2 of 2 ranked programs sit at public universities.
- We rank on graduation rate first, then selectivity and affordability, all from federal IPEDS data.
- 1
Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus
55score- 56%Grad rate
- $7,716/yrIn-state tuition
- $11,200/yrOut-of-state tuition
- 91%Admit rate
- 7,353Undergrads
- 1Grads/yr
- 1075SAT mid
- Career and Technical Teacher Education, AAS
About the programThe Career and Technical Teacher Education, AAS at Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus is a 60-credit associate program in the Department of Career and Wellness Education. It is designed for in-service career and technical teachers, combining the Career and Technical Teacher Certification program with Liberal Studies degree requirements. Completion leads to the associate degree alongside permanent career and technical instructional certification. As an associate degree in trade and industrial teacher education, it adds to the associate-level trade and industrial teacher education options in Pennsylvania.
Why it ranks hereProgram pageThree things decide where a program lands on this list: how many students finish, how selective it is, and what it costs. Start with the outcome that matters most, 56% of students graduate, top 1% among programs nationwide, which is the biggest reason it sits where it does. Admission is close to open access at 91%, so this is a program that bets on teaching students well rather than screening them out. The one drag is price, $7,716 in state, above the national median, so it earns its rank on outcomes rather than affordability. Strong on the measures that matter most, it earns a place near the top.
- 2
Southeast Community College Area
45score- 38%Grad rate
- $2,940/yrIn-state tuition
- $3,528/yrOut-of-state tuition
- 10,816Undergrads
- 1Grads/yr
- Technical Skills Instructor
- On-campus
About the programSoutheast Community College's Technical Skills Instructor Associate of Applied Science is a 60 credit hour, on-campus program offered at the Lincoln and Milford campuses, available full-time or part-time. It functions as a 2+2 transfer pathway: students complete two years of technical coursework at SCC, then transfer to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for teacher education courses and Nebraska teaching certification for grades 7-12. Concentrations span Architecture and Construction; Manufacturing; STEM; and Transportation, Distribution and Logistics. The associate's degree itself is not a teaching license; it prepares students to teach in-demand technical skills to Nebraska's secondary students. As an associate degree in trade and industrial teacher education, it adds to the associate-level trade and industrial teacher education options in Nebraska.
Why it ranks hereProgram pageWe rank on the things that actually shape a teaching degree: whether students finish, how hard it is to get in, and the price of admission. The sticking point is completion, the factor we weigh most heavily: at 38% the graduation rate trails the national median, which caps how high it can climb. Cost only helps its case: at $2,940 in state, tuition runs below the national median, so students are not paying a premium for those results. That combination is what puts it in the top handful here.
How we rank
Each program is scored 0 to 100 against the other associate's programs in its specialty: graduation rate (55%) and affordability by in-state tuition (45%). Scores are percentile-based within the specialty, so they compare like with like, and a program missing a field gets the neutral median. Because an associate's in elementary education is a two-year transfer degree offered almost entirely by open-admission community colleges, selectivity is not used. Earnings are excluded because they depend on transferring and finishing a bachelor's degree. Every associate's program in the specialty is ranked and shown, with no per-state cap.
- Graduation rate: 55%
- Affordability (in-state tuition): 45%
How much an associate's in Trade and Industrial Teacher Education program costs
Published in-state tuition across the 2 ranked associate's programs typically runs from $2,940 to $7,716 a year, with a median near $5,328. Most of that spread is public versus private: public universities charge state residents the least, while private colleges set a single sticker price that applies to everyone. 2 of the 2 programs here are public, which is usually where the lowest in-state numbers come from.
Sticker price is rarely what a student pays. Grants and scholarships lower the net cost, and future teachers have aid written specifically for them: the federal TEACH Grant provides up to $4,000 a year to students who agree to teach a high-need subject in a low-income school, and many states add service scholarships and loan-forgiveness programs for people who commit to the classroom. Two costs to watch are out-of-state tuition, which at public schools often runs two to three times the resident rate, and mandatory fees and living expenses, which the tuition figure leaves out entirely.
Sources: tuition and program data from IPEDS; the TEACH Grant from Federal Student Aid.
Ways to earn your associate's in Trade and Industrial Teacher Education
An associate's in Trade and Industrial Teacher Education is usually the first two years of a longer teaching path rather than a destination in itself. Most are delivered on campus, since even early coursework often includes in-person classroom observation. Many are designed explicitly as a transfer, or pre-education, track that maps onto a four-year degree.
The move that saves the most money is articulation: completing general-education and introductory teaching coursework at a community college, then transferring those credits into a bachelor's program to finish the degree and student teaching. Statewide transfer agreements in many states guarantee that an approved associate's applies in full, so it pays to choose a program with a clear articulation pathway to the university you eventually want to attend.
An associate's on its own does not lead to a standard teaching license, which is the norm for this level rather than a shortcoming. What it does do is open the door to classroom roles now, paraprofessional and teacher-aide positions, and in some states a step toward early-childhood or substitute credentials while you keep studying toward the bachelor's.
Sources: online and program counts from IPEDS; alternative-certification pathways per the US Department of Education.
Data sources for our Associate's in Trade and Industrial Teacher Education ranking
- Program counts, tuition, graduation and admission rates: IPEDS, US Department of Education.
- Program descriptions: each school's official catalog and program pages.