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history and political science

Instructional content is defined in code 30.4601.

Types of Degrees history and political science Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing history and political science have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Associate’s Degree	3
Bachelor’s Degree	45
Master’s Degree	21

What history and political science Majors Need to Know

Programs in history and political science develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that history and political science graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in history and political science emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• History and Archeology — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a history and political science program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to history and political science careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, history and political science graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.5 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.4 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.3 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.2 / 7
Processing Information	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.1 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.0 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by history and political science professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Course management system software	Computer based training software	—
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—
Desire2Learn LMS software	Computer based training software	—
Calendar and scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for history and political science graduates include:

• Adjunct Instructor
• College Professor
• College Faculty Member
• Associate Professor
• Professor
• Instructor
• Assistant Professor
• Lecturer
• University Faculty Member
• Political Science Adjunct Professor
• Geopolitics Teacher
• International Relations Professor
• Adjunct Political Science Professor
• International Relations Teacher
• Public Policy Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to history and political science graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	58.3%
Bachelor’s degree	18.3%
Master’s degree	15.0%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	2.5%
High school diploma or equivalent	1.9%
Some college courses	1.4%
Postsecondary certificate	1.2%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.8%
Post-doctoral training	0.2%
Less than a high school diploma	0.2%
Post-master’s certificate	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in history and political science?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly male, with men earning 68.1% of history and political science degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	22	31.9%
Men	47	68.1%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of history and political science graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	39	56.5%
Asian	1	1.4%
Hispanic or Latino	16	23.2%
Black or African American	8	11.6%
Two or More Races	1	1.4%
Race Unknown	3	4.3%
International Students	1	1.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

Online history and political science Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for history and political science. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	1	0
Bachelor’s	1	0
Master’s	1	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Multi Interdisciplinary Studies	134,694
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	30,141
Biological and Physical Sciences	28,033
Data Analytics	12,891
Data Science	7,716
International/Globalization Studies	5,740
Nutrition Sciences	5,456
Behavioral Sciences	5,391
Sustainability Studies	4,374
Cognitive Science	3,121
Natural Sciences	2,648
Computational Science	2,395

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.