Best Chemistry Teacher, Postsecondary programs in Illinois, ranked by enrollment
Teach courses pertaining to the chemical and physical properties and compositional changes of substances. Work may include providing instruction in the methods of qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis.
41 schools in Illinois run programs that feed this job, graduating 790 people a year. The job pays a median of $97,860 in Illinois across about 880 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Illinois that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
10 programs in Illinois that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Illinois (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Illinois page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 40.0501In Illinois → | 701 | 88.7% | 39 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 2 | CIP 40.0599In Illinois → | 35 | 4.4% | 2 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 3 | CIP 13.1316In Illinois → | 25 | 3.2% | 7 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 4 | CIP 40.0502In Illinois → | 17 | 2.2% | 2 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 5 | CIP 51.2004In Illinois → | 5 | 0.6% | 2 | $48,728 | $23,761 |
| 6 | CIP 13.1323In Illinois → | 3 | 0.4% | 1 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 7 | CIP 40.0509In Illinois → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 8 | CIP 40.0510In Illinois → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 9 | CIP 40.0511In Illinois → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 10 | CIP 40.1002In Illinois → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $72,216 | $24,750 |
Top 25 schools in Illinois
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 5 of the 41 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 163 | Chemistry, General | $47,034 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 2 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 153 | Chemistry, General | — | 96% | $13,333 | 4% |
| 3 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL Public · 3 feeder programs | 76 | Chemistry, General | — | 62% | — | 77% |
| 4 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 60 | Chemistry, General | — | 95% | $14,799 | 8% |
| 5 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 45 | Chemistry, General | $46,659 | 57% | — | 97% |
| 6 | Western Illinois University Macomb, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 34 | Chemistry, General | $31,980 | 45% | — | 71% |
| 7 | Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Chemistry, General | $43,061 | 49% | — | 70% |
| 8 | Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 7 feeder programs | 30 | Analytical Chemistry | — | 75% | $19,899 | 55% |
| 9 | Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Chemistry, General | — | 73% | $33,454 | 82% |
| 10 | Illinois State University Normal, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 24 | Chemistry, General | — | 65% | — | 88% |
| 11 | Southern Illinois University - Carbondale Carbondale, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Chemistry, General | — | 62% | — | 87% |
| 12 | Bradley University Peoria, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Chemistry, General | — | 76% | $21,768 | 77% |
| 13 | Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 12 | Chemistry, General | — | 47% | — | 65% |
| 14 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Chemistry, General | — | 22% | — | 75% |
| 15 | Lewis University Romeoville, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Chemistry, General | — | 67% | $17,632 | 71% |
| 16 | Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Chemistry, General | — | 78% | $25,052 | 57% |
| 17 | Wheaton College Wheaton, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Chemistry, General | — | 85% | $23,461 | 87% |
| 18 | Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 5 | Chemistry, General | — | 70% | $20,794 | 74% |
| 19 | Governors State University University Park, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 5 | Analytical Chemistry | — | 22% | — | 48% |
| 20 | North Central College Naperville, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Chemistry, General | — | 64% | $20,052 | 77% |
| 21 | Saint Xavier University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Chemistry, General | — | 57% | $12,935 | 84% |
| 22 | University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Chemistry, General | — | 53% | — | 86% |
| 23 | Augustana College Rock Island, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 4 | Chemistry, General | — | 73% | $14,960 | 63% |
| 24 | Benedictine University Lisle, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Chemistry, General | — | 50% | $23,570 | 95% |
| 25 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Chemistry, General | — | 68% | $28,141 | 76% |
All 41 schools in Illinois
Every school in Illinois with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign | Champaign | Public | 163 | 1 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 153 | 2 |
| University of Illinois Chicago | Chicago | Public | 76 | 3 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston | Private not-for-profit | 60 | 1 |
| Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Edwardsville | Public | 45 | 1 |
| Western Illinois University | Macomb | Public | 34 | 2 |
| Northern Illinois University | Dekalb | Public | 33 | 1 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 30 | 7 |
| Loyola University Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 25 | 1 |
| Illinois State University | Normal | Public | 24 | 2 |
| Southern Illinois University - Carbondale | Carbondale | Public | 14 | 1 |
| Bradley University | Peoria | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| Eastern Illinois University | Charleston | Public | 12 | 2 |
| Northeastern Illinois University | Chicago | Public | 12 | 1 |
| Lewis University | Romeoville | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 1 |
What chemistry teachers, postsecondary earn in Illinois
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $93,250. Illinois pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Illinois
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary page.
How to become a Chemistry Teacher, Postsecondary
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Illinois
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 17 majors mapped to Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary16 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.1316Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education
- 13.1323Chemistry Teacher Education
- 40.0501Chemistry, General
- 40.0502Analytical Chemistry
- 40.0503Inorganic Chemistry
- 40.0504Organic Chemistry
- 40.0506Physical Chemistry
- 40.0507Polymer Chemistry
- 40.0508Chemical Physics
- 40.0509Environmental Chemistry
- 40.0510Forensic Chemistry
- 40.0511Theoretical Chemistry
- 40.0512Cheminformatics/Chemistry Informatics(no graduates reported)
- 40.0599Chemistry, Other
- 40.0602Geochemistry
- 40.1002Materials Chemistry
- 51.2004Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Common questions
Answers for people weighing chemistry teachers, postsecondary programs in Illinois.
What degree do you need to become a Chemistry Teacher, Postsecondary?+
Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Chemistry, General, which awarded 701 degrees in Illinois in 2024-25, 88.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Chemistry Teacher, Postsecondary?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 10 programs to this occupation. The largest are Chemistry, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Pharmacy, Materials Sciences. Together they graduate about 790 people a year in Illinois.
How much do chemistry teachers, postsecondary earn in Illinois?+
The median is $97,860 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.9% above the U.S. median of $93,250. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for chemistry teachers, postsecondary growing?+
BLS projects a +2.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Illinois?+
41 institutions in Illinois reported graduates from at least one of the 10 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do chemistry teachers, postsecondary work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Assistant Professor, Chemistry Professor, Chemistry Instructor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1052.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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