Social Sciences Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Social Sciences maps to BLS occupations averaging about $63,569, with roughly 1,506,610 workers nationwide in those roles. About 38,447 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median program completion runs near 58%.
Key Statistics
Social Sciences: what the data shows
Common questions about social sciences degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a social sciences degree?
A Social Sciences program is classified under NCES CIP 45.1001 in the Political Science and Government field family (45.10).
A general program that focuses on the systematic study of political institutions and behavior. Includes instruction in political philosophy, political theory, comparative government and politics, political parties and interest groups, public opinion, political research methods, studies of the government and politics of specific countries, and studies of specific political institutions and processes.
IPEDS counted 38,447 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of social sciences degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 45.10 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- American Government and Politics (United States) (CIP 45.1002)
- Canadian Government and Politics (CIP 45.1003)
- Political Economy (CIP 45.1004)
How long does it take to get a social sciences degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 45.1001 in our file:
- 2,200 Associate (5.2% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 38,447 Bachelor's (90.9% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 1,659 Master's (3.9% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 10 Doctorate (0.0% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in social sciences?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Sales & Office Occupations (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 45.1001, 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 social sciences degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Social Sciences 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sales & Office Occupations | 1,441,580 | — |
| Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs | 156,260 | $51,500 |
| Psychiatric Aides | 34,900 | $41,590 |
| Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers | 205,230 | $54,660 |
| Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers | 12,460 | $65,480 |
| Plant and System Operators, All Other | 15,950 | $61,710 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a social sciences degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Political Science and Government bachelor's program family: median debt $34,600, median earnings $63,293 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.97.
About 6.2% 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 $3,861 and median net price is $9,063.
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 Social Sciences and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$3,861 Median In-State Public
$26,417 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Social Sciences majors are, on average, $3,861 for in-state public colleges, and $26,417 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Social Sciences programs.
Institutions awarding the most Social Sciences degrees
| # | Institution | State | Completions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles | CA | 744 |
| 2 | Florida State University | FL | 536 |
| 3 | University of California-Berkeley | CA | 438 |
| 4 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | NC | 428 |
| 5 | University of Central Florida | FL | 414 |
| 6 | University of Florida | FL | 403 |
| 7 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 372 |
| 8 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | WI | 370 |
| 9 | The University of Texas at Austin | TX | 340 |
| 10 | University of California-Santa Barbara | CA | 337 |
IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), all award levels for this CIP in our extract.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
38,447 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Social Sciences from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Social Sciences.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan State University | MI | 40,243 |
| 2 | Valencia College | FL | 35,125 |
| 3 | Miami Dade College | FL | 35,001 |
| 4 | Connecticut State Community College | CT | 32,292 |
| 5 | New York University | NY | 29,430 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Social Sciences programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee College | TX | $2,166 |
| 2 | Fort Peck Community College | MT | $2,250 |
| 3 | Pima Community College | AZ | $2,370 |
| 4 | Gulf Coast State College | FL | $2,370 |
| 5 | Valencia College | FL | $2,474 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Social Sciences programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gulf Coast State College | FL | $2,339 |
| 2 | Fort Peck Community College | MT | $2,449 |
| 3 | Florida State College at Jacksonville | FL | $2,760 |
| 4 | Florida Gateway College | FL | $2,915 |
| 5 | Seminole State College of Florida | FL | $3,119 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Social Sciences programs.
Graduation Rates
58.15% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
58.25% Average Graduation Rate
1,201 Institutions Reporting
46.43% - 70.52% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Social Sciences 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 Social Sciences is in CA (5,229 completions). That state represents about 13.6% 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 DC (4.41% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 5,229 | 13.6% | 1.16% |
| NY | 2,959 | 7.7% | 1.07% |
| FL | 2,414 | 6.3% | 1.05% |
| TX | 2,326 | 6.0% | 0.79% |
| PA | 1,751 | 4.5% | 1.03% |
| NC | 1,603 | 4.2% | 1.30% |
| MA | 1,499 | 3.9% | 1.18% |
| VA | 1,409 | 3.7% | 1.15% |
| IL | 1,292 | 3.4% | 0.93% |
| OH | 1,193 | 3.1% | 0.86% |
| GA | 1,048 | 2.7% | 0.92% |
| DC | 968 | 2.5% | 4.41% |
| MI | 858 | 2.2% | 0.75% |
| MD | 846 | 2.2% | 1.15% |
| AZ | 749 | 1.9% | 0.54% |
| CT | 726 | 1.9% | 1.48% |
| SC | 687 | 1.8% | 1.24% |
| TN | 679 | 1.8% | 0.92% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 45.10 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- American Government and Politics (United States) CIP 45.1002
- Canadian Government and Politics CIP 45.1003
- Political Economy CIP 45.1004
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 45.1001 in the survey year used in our extract (42,316 total across levels below).
- 2,200 Associate (5.2% of IPEDS total)
- 38,447 Bachelor's (90.9% of IPEDS total)
- 1,659 Master's (3.9% of IPEDS total)
- 10 Doctorate (0.0% 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 $63,569. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Social Sciences graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Sales & Office Occupations | $62,097 | 1,441,580 |
| Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs | $64,234 | 156,260 |
| Psychiatric Aides | $51,699 | 34,900 |
| Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers | $74,559 | 205,230 |
| Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers | $62,247 | 12,460 |
| Plant and System Operators, All Other | $75,696 | 15,950 |
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 Political Science and Government CIP family (187 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Social Sciences graduate.
- $34,600 median federal loan debt among completers
- $63,293 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.97 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 6.2% 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
$62,378 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Social Sciences majors is $62,378.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Social Sciences majors.
Occupations by Share
1,506,610 2023 Workforce
The number of Social Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Social Sciences by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Social Sciences in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Social Sciences.
Age distribution for Social Sciences degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
38,447 Total Degrees Awarded
17,379 Male (45.20%)
21,068 Female (54.80%)
Gender distribution of Social Sciences degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
20,776 White (54.04%)
7,725 Hispanic or Latino (20.09%)
3,524 Black or African American (9.17%)
2,449 Asian (6.37%)
1,957 Two or More Races (5.09%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Social Sciences degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Social Sciences are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Social Sciences.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Social Sciences field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Social Sciences majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Social Sciences 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 Social Sciences majors.
About
A general program that focuses on the systematic study of political institutions and behavior. Includes instruction in political philosophy, political theory, comparative government and politics, political parties and interest groups, public opinion, political research methods, studies of the government and politics of specific countries, and studies of specific political institutions and processes.
In 2023, 38,447 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Social Sciences.
CIP Code
45.1001 - Social Sciences
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $34,600 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $63,293, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.97. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Social Sciences graduate.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $63,569. The largest mapped role by headcount is Sales & Office Occupations (1,441,580 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $3,861 in-state at public colleges and $26,417 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.