North Carolina·Educational Instruction and Library Occupations·SOC 25-1052

Best Chemistry Teacher, Postsecondary programs in North Carolina, 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.

35 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 738 people a year. The job pays a median of $78,620 in North Carolina across about 900 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledProfessorAssistant ProfessorChemistry ProfessorChemistry InstructorLecturerInstructorChemical EducatorCollege Professor
Graduates / yr
738
in North Carolina
Median pay · North Carolina
$78,620
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
900
people employed
Schools
35
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
59%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,585
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in North Carolina that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

4 programs in North Carolina that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in North Carolina (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 North Carolina page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1658
89.2%
35$42,620$23,900
249
6.6%
1$42,620$23,900
330
4.1%
3$43,033$26,044
41
0.1%
1$48,728$23,761

Top 25 schools in North Carolina

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 10 of the 35 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
155Chemistry, General$32,51691%15%
2North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC Public · 2 feeder programs
93Chemistry, General$47,07185%42%
3Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC Public · 3 feeder programs
83Forensic Chemistry$26,51360%82%
4University of North Carolina Wilmington
Wilmington, NC Public · 2 feeder programs
54Chemistry, General$44,47371%64%
5Appalachian State University
Boone, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
52Chemistry, General$40,48875%90%
6East Carolina University
Greenville, NC Public · 2 feeder programs
50Chemistry, General$47,87563%89%
7University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
47Chemistry, General$35,48269%80%
8Duke University
Durham, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
44Chemistry, General$29,74897%$16,2606%
9North Carolina A & T State University
Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
24Chemistry, General57%50%
10Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
20Chemistry, General89%$20,91422%
11Davidson College
Davidson, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Chemistry, General91%$16,62813%
12Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
13Chemistry, General38%82%
13North Carolina Central University
Durham, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
11Chemistry, General42%87%
14University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
11Chemistry, General56%89%
15University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Pembroke, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
11Chemistry, General$35,57944%93%
16University of North Carolina Asheville
Asheville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
7Chemistry, General$36,89154%92%
17Elon University
Elon, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Chemistry, General84%$33,68866%
18Meredith College
Raleigh, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Chemistry, General70%$19,55274%
19High Point University
High Point, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Chemistry, General74%$37,07275%
20Guilford College
Greensboro, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Chemistry, General46%$25,34580%
21Barton College
Wilson, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General46%$23,13394%
22Campbell University
Buies Creek, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General61%$23,33187%
23Gardner - Webb University
Boiling Springs, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General55%$22,86377%
24Wingate University
Wingate, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General46%$21,58591%
25Winston - Salem State University
Winston-Salem, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General47%78%

All 35 schools in North Carolina

Every school in North Carolina 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.

All schools in North Carolina that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillPublic1551
North Carolina State University at RaleighRaleighPublic932
Western Carolina UniversityCullowheePublic833
University of North Carolina WilmingtonWilmingtonPublic542
Appalachian State UniversityBoonePublic521
East Carolina UniversityGreenvillePublic502
University of North Carolina at CharlotteCharlottePublic471
Duke UniversityDurhamPrivate not-for-profit441
North Carolina A & T State UniversityGreensboroPublic241
Wake Forest UniversityWinston-SalemPrivate not-for-profit201
Davidson CollegeDavidsonPrivate not-for-profit131
Fayetteville State UniversityFayettevillePublic131
North Carolina Central UniversityDurhamPublic111
University of North Carolina at GreensboroGreensboroPublic111
University of North Carolina at PembrokePembrokePublic111

What chemistry teachers, postsecondary earn in North Carolina

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in North Carolina
$78,620
Mean annual
$90,050
Jobs in state
900
What the range looks like
10th pct$52,190Median$78,62090th pct$134,210
Versus the national median
-15.7%

U.S. median $93,250. North Carolina pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.42×

Concentrated here: North Carolina employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in North Carolina

Wilmington, NC
$144,160median
40 jobs
Raleigh-Cary, NC
$104,710median
150 jobs
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
$76,690median
100 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+2.2%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
1,900
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
600
25,400 → 26,000
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree

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

Reading ComprehensionWritingSpeakingLearning StrategiesActive LearningScience

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in North Carolina

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 North Carolina.

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 658 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 89.2% 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 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Chemistry, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Pharmacy. Together they graduate about 738 people a year in North Carolina.

How much do chemistry teachers, postsecondary earn in North Carolina?+

The median is $78,620 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 15.7% below 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 North Carolina?+

35 institutions in North Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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.

Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary in other statesCaliforniaNew YorkTexasOhioPennsylvaniaMassachusettsIllinoisFlorida

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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