Social Sciences

Contains Stem Majors

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Total Degrees​
Awarded in 2016

194,755

declining 0.976%

Median In-State​
Public Tuition

$6,872

growing 3.37%

Median Out-of-State​
Private Tuition

$35,440

growing 4.27%

Average Wage

$93,738

growing 3.67%

People in Workforce

3.68M

growing 1.39%

Average Employee Age

43

growing 0.39%

About

Institutions

Employment

Diversity

Skills

About

The locations with the highest concentration of Social Sciences degree recipients are New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, and Washington, DC. The locations with a relatively high number of Social Sciences degree recipients are Barstow, CA, Epworth, IA, and Easton, PA. The most common degree awarded to students studying Social Sciences is a bachelors degree.

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Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Social Sciences and the types of students that study this field. University of California-Los Angeles awards the most degrees in Social Sciences in the US, but Institute of World Politics and SIT Graduate Institute have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Social Sciences.

Tuition costs for Social Sciences majors are, on average, $6,872 for in-state public colleges, and $35,440 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Social Sciences programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (818 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (117,439 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Social Sciences

  1. University of California-Los Angeles

  2. Florida State University

  3. University of California-Berkeley

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Social Sciences, is Public, 4-year or above (117,439 completions).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Social Sciences programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

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Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$6,872

Median In-State Public

$35,440

Median Out of State Private

University of California-Los Angeles has the most Social Sciences degree recipients, with 2,411 degrees awarded in 2016.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Social Sciences.

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Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution

  1. Institute of World Politics

    100%

  2. SIT Graduate Institute

    82.2%

  3. International Institute for Restorative Practices

    41.7%

Out of all institutions that offer Social Sciences programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Institute of World Politics and SIT Graduate Institute have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Social Sciences, with 100% and 82.2%, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Social Sciences

  1. Los Angeles County, CA

  2. New York County, NY

  3. San Diego County, CA

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Social Sciences by year.

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Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

  1. Barbour County, WV

  2. Washington County, OK

  3. Finney County, KS

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Social Sciences.

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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 $93,738 and the most common occupations are Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, Miscellaneous managers, and Elementary & middle school teachers.

The industry that employs the most Social Sciences majors is Legal services, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Miscellaneous nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing.

Wages

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

$93,738

Average Wage in Workforce

± $1,346

3.67%

1 Year Growth

± 1.97%

The average salary for Social Sciences majors is $93,738 and the most common occupations are Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, Miscellaneous managers, and Elementary & middle school teachers.

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

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Highest Paying Locations

Highest Paying Pumas

  1. LENOWISCO & Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commissions PUMA, VA

  2. Bucks County (Southwest) PUMA, PA

  3. Warren, Jasper, Marion, Dallas (West) & Madison Counties PUMA, IA

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.

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Occupations

Most Common

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

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Most Specialized

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

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Highest Paid

The highest paid occupations by median income for Social Sciences majors are Sales engineers, Physicians & surgeons, and Securities, commodities, & financial services sales agents.

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Occupations by Share

3.68M

2017 Workforce

± 46,515

1.39%

1 Year Growth

± 1.77%

The number of Social Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 1.39%, from 3.63M in 2016 to 3.68M in 2017.

The largest single share of Social Sciences graduates go on to work as Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers (7.89%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Social Sciences by share of the total number of graduates.

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Industries

Most Common

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

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Highest Paid

The highest paying industries of Social Sciences majors, by average wage, are Miscellaneous nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing, Nonferrous metal (except aluminum) production & processing, and Computer & peripheral equipment manufacturing.

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Industries by Share

3.68M

2017 Workforce

± 46,515

1.39%

1 Year Growth

± 1.77%

The number of Social Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 1.39%, from 3.63M in 2016 to 3.68M in 2017.

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

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Specialty Locations

PUMAS with a relatively high number of Social Sciences majors

  1. West Hollywood & Beverly Hills Cities PUMA, CA

  2. Carr 2-Carr 111 PUMA, PR

  3. Carr 2-Carr 100 PUMA, PR

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

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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, and the most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Social Sciences degrees, and White students earn the majority (99,758) of the degrees.

Workforce Age

43

Average Age in 2017

± 0.171 Years

0.39%

1 Year Change

± 0.562%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Social Sciences. The most common ages of employees with this major are 30 and 29 years old, which represent 2.96% and 2.95% of the population, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Social Sciences are Bachelors Degree, Associates Degree, and Masters Degree.

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Workforce Degrees

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

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Gender Imbalance for Common Institutions

Female (52.7%)

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 Social Sciences.

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Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity

  1. White

    99,758 degrees awarded

  2. Hispanic or Latino

    31,400 degrees awarded

  3. Black or African American

    17,471 degrees awarded

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

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Race & Ethnicity by Gender

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Gender Combination

  1. White Male

    42,580 degrees awarded

  2. White Female

    38,928 degrees awarded

  3. Hispanic or Latino Female

    13,420 degrees awarded

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

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Global Diversity

Most Common Countries of Origin

  1. India

    44,245 degree recipients

  2. China

    39,969 degree recipients

  3. Korea

    28,475 degree recipients

High Relative Number of Students

  1. Singapore

    5.67 times more than expected

  2. Azerbaijan

    4.89 times more than expected

  3. Czechoslovakia

    4.85 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Singapore that hold Social Sciences degrees (5.67 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 (44,245 degree recipients).

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Social Sciences field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Social Sciences majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Social Sciences majors need more than the average amount of Science, Systems Analysis, and Systems Evaluation.

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 Social Sciences 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 Science is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and Speaking are the three most important skills for people in the field.

Radar Distribution

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Bar Chart

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