Political Science & Government

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Total Degrees
Awarded in 2017

43,220

growing 0.908%

Median In-State
Public Tuition

$6,887

growing 3.77%

Median Out-of-State
Private Tuition

$34,200

growing 2.09%

Average Wage

$96,153

growing 2.58%

People in Workforce

3.82M

growing 3.81%

Average Employee Age

43.1

growing 0.254%

About

The locations with the highest concentration of Political Science & Government degree recipients are , New York, NY, and Los Angeles, CA. The locations with a relatively high number of Political Science & Government degree recipients are Brunswick, ME, Davidson, NC, and Naval Academy, MD. The most common degree awarded to students studying Political Science & Government is a bachelors degree.

Photo by Jason Mrachina

Social Sciences

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Political Science & Government and the types of students that study this field. University of California-Los Angeles awards the most degrees in Political Science & Government in the US, but Bowdoin College and Davidson College have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Political Science & Government.

Tuition costs for Political Science & Government majors are, on average, $6,887 for in-state public colleges, and $34,200 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Political Science & Government programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (648 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (27,122 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Political Science & Government

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Political Science & Government, is Public, 4-year or above (27,122 completions).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Political Science & Government programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$6,887

Median In-State Public

$34,200

Median Out of State Private

University of California-Los Angeles has the most Political Science & Government degree recipients, with 671 degrees awarded in 2017.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Political Science & Government.

Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution

Out of all institutions that offer Political Science & Government programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Bowdoin College and Davidson College have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Political Science & Government, with 14.8% and 13.9%, respectively.

Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Political Science & Government

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Political Science & Government by year.

Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Political Science & Government.

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Social Sciences graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Social Sciences majors is $96,153 and the most common occupations are Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, Other managers, and Elementary & middle school teachers.

The industry that employs the most Social Sciences majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Paint, coating, & adhesive manufacturing .

Wages

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

$96,153

Average Wage in Workforce

± $1,355

2.58%

1 Year Growth

± 1.96%

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Social Sciences majors.

Highest Paying Locations

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

Highest Paying Pumas

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Social Sciences majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Social Sciences majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

Occupations

Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

The most common occupations Social Sciences majors, by number of employees, are Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, Other managers, and Elementary & middle school teachers.

Most Specialized

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Social Sciences majors working as Economists, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Miscellaneous social scientists, including survey researchers & sociologists.

Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

The highest paid occupations by median income for Social Sciences majors are Nuclear medicine technologists and medical dosimetrists, Cardiovascular technologists and technicians, and Physicians.

Occupations by Share

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

3.82M

2018 Workforce

± 47,378

3.81%

1 Year Growth

± 1.71%

The number of Social Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.81%, from 3.68M in 2017 to 3.82M in 2018.

The largest single share of Social Sciences graduates go on to work as Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers (8.06%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Social Sciences by share of the total number of graduates.

Industries

Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

The most common industries that employ Social Sciences majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Legal services, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.

Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

The highest paying industries of Social Sciences majors, by average wage, are Paint, coating, & adhesive manufacturing , Paper & paper products merchant wholesalers, and Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments.

Industries by Share

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

3.82M

2018 Workforce

± 47,378

3.81%

1 Year Growth

± 1.71%

The number of Social Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.81%, from 3.68M in 2017 to 3.82M in 2018.

The industry which employs the most Social Sciences graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools, followed by Legal services. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Social Sciences.

Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

PUMAS with a relatively high number of Social Sciences majors

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Social Sciences majors.

Diversity

Demographic information on those who earn a degree in Social Sciences in the US. The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Social Sciences is 43.1, and the most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Male employees are more likely to hold Social Sciences degrees, and White students earn the majority (24,659) of the degrees.

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

43.1

Average Age in 2018

± 0.168 Years

0.254%

1 Year Change

± 0.555%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Social Sciences. The most common ages of employees with this major are 35 and 30 years old, which represent 2.99% and 2.92% of the population, respectively.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Political Science & Government are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

The most common degree types held by the working population in Social Sciences are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.

Gender Imbalance for Common Institutions

Male (52.8%)

Most Common Gender with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by gender at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Political Science & Government.

Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity

White
24,659 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino
7,068 degrees awarded
Black or African American
3,928 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Political Science & Government for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

Race & Ethnicity by Gender

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Gender Combination

White Male
12,711 degrees awarded
White Female
9,837 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino Female
3,294 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by gender for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Political Science & Government. White Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and gender.

Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Political Science & Government is from the 2 Digit Course Social Sciences.

Most Common Countries of Origin

India
42,861 degree recipients
China
38,748 degree recipients
Philippines
29,986 degree recipients

High Relative Number of Students

Azerbaijan
5.17 times more than expected
Latvia
4.92 times more than expected
Norway
4.17 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Azerbaijan that hold Social Sciences degrees (5.17 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (42,861 degree recipients).

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Political Science & Government field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Political Science & Government majors need many skills, but most especially Speaking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Political Science & Government majors need more than the average amount of Management of Financial Resources, Coordination, and Persuasion.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Political Science & Government majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Management of Financial Resources is very distinctive for majors, but the Speaking, Reading Comprehension, and Writing are the three most important skills for people in the field.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

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