History and Philosophy of Science and Technology Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
History and Philosophy of Science and Technology maps to BLS occupations averaging about $230,997, with roughly 937,050 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $9,642; common paths include Lawyers and Biological Scientists, All Other.
Key Statistics
History and Philosophy of Science and Technology: what the data shows
Common questions about history and philosophy of science and technology degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a history and philosophy of science and technology degree?
A History and Philosophy of Science and Technology program is classified under NCES CIP 54.0104 in the History field family (54.01).
A program that focuses on the historical evolution of scientific theories, science applications and technologies, and the scientific, medical, and technological disciplines, as well as the philosophy of science and its historical socio-economic context. Includes instruction in the concepts and methods of philosophical inquiry; historiography of science; history of science, medicine, and technology; and research methods in the history of the scientific and engineering disciplines, including mathematics
IPEDS counted 136 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of history and philosophy of science and technology degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 54.01 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- American History (United States) (CIP 54.0102)
- Asian History (CIP 54.0106)
- Canadian History (CIP 54.0107)
- European History (CIP 54.0103)
- History, General (CIP 54.0101)
- Military History (CIP 54.0108)
- Public/Applied History (CIP 54.0105)
How long does it take to get a history and philosophy of science and technology degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 54.0104 in our file:
- 136 Bachelor's (79.5% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 35 Master's (20.5% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Lawyers (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 54.0104, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a history and philosophy of science and technology degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links History and Philosophy of Science and Technology to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Lawyers | 747,750 | $151,160 |
| Biological Scientists, All Other | 59,710 | $93,330 |
| Soil and Plant Scientists | 16,600 | $71,410 |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | 84,930 | $80,060 |
| Conservation Scientists | 25,590 | $67,950 |
| Animal Scientists | 2,470 | $79,120 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a history and philosophy of science and technology degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the History bachelor's program family: median debt $30,706, median earnings $50,680 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.98.
About 6.8% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $9,642 and median net price is $17,743.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$9,642 Median In-State Public
$40,490 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology majors are, on average, $9,642 for in-state public colleges, and $40,490 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 2 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 3 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 4 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
| 5 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering History and Philosophy of Science and Technology programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Taft College | CA | $1,108 |
| 3 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 4 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 5 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 3 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 4 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 5 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,115 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology is in MA (57 completions). That state represents about 41.9% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is MT (0.07% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| MA | 57 | 41.9% | 0.04% |
| PA | 22 | 16.2% | 0.01% |
| GA | 11 | 8.1% | 0.01% |
| UT | 10 | 7.3% | 0.01% |
| MD | 9 | 6.6% | 0.01% |
| MT | 8 | 5.9% | 0.07% |
| IL | 7 | 5.2% | 0.01% |
| NY | 7 | 5.2% | 0.00% |
| OK | 3 | 2.2% | 0.01% |
| OH | 1 | 0.7% | 0.00% |
| WA | 1 | 0.7% | 0.00% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 54.01 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- American History (United States) CIP 54.0102
- Asian History CIP 54.0106
- Canadian History CIP 54.0107
- European History CIP 54.0103
- History, General CIP 54.0101
- Military History CIP 54.0108
- Public/Applied History CIP 54.0105
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 54.0104 in the survey year used in our extract (171 total across levels below).
- 136 Bachelor's (79.5% of IPEDS total)
- 35 Master's (20.5% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $230,997. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Lawyers | $261,078 | 747,750 |
| Biological Scientists, All Other | $124,288 | 59,710 |
| Soil and Plant Scientists | $94,151 | 16,600 |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | $110,339 | 84,930 |
| Conservation Scientists | $90,227 | 25,590 |
| Animal Scientists | — | 2,470 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the History CIP family (95 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every History and Philosophy of Science and Technology graduate.
- $30,706 median federal loan debt among completers
- $50,680 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.98 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 6.8% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$230,997 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology majors is $230,997.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology majors.
Occupations by Share
937,050 2023 Workforce
The number of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology.
Age distribution for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
136 Total Degrees Awarded
56 Male (41.18%)
80 Female (58.82%)
Gender distribution of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
63 White (46.32%)
26 Asian (19.12%)
15 Black or African American (11.03%)
14 Hispanic or Latino (10.29%)
8 Two or More Races (5.88%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
History and Philosophy of Science and Technology majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology majors.
About
A program that focuses on the historical evolution of scientific theories, science applications and technologies, and the scientific, medical, and technological disciplines, as well as the philosophy of science and its historical socio-economic context. Includes instruction in the concepts and methods of philosophical inquiry; historiography of science; history of science, medicine, and technology; and research methods in the history of the scientific and engineering disciplines, including mathematics
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology.
CIP Code
54.0104 - History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $30,706 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $50,680, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.98. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual History and Philosophy of Science and Technology graduate.
Women earned 62.6% of 230 History and Philosophy of Science and Technology completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $230,997. The largest mapped role by headcount is Lawyers (747,750 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,642 in-state at public colleges and $40,490 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.