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philosophy, politics, and economics

Instructional content is defined in code 30.5101.

Types of Degrees philosophy, politics, and economics Majors Are Earning

People majoring in philosophy, politics, and economics can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	158
Master’s Degree	6

What philosophy, politics, and economics Majors Need to Know

Coursework for philosophy, politics, and economics emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that philosophy, politics, and economics graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in philosophy, politics, and economics emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a philosophy, politics, and economics program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to philosophy, politics, and economics careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, philosophy, politics, and economics graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.3 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7
Working with Computers	4.2 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.2 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Processing Information	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by philosophy, politics, and economics professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—
Calendar and scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
iParadigms Turnitin	Information retrieval or search software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for philosophy, politics, and economics graduates include:

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

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to philosophy, politics, and economics graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	64.9%
Bachelor’s degree	15.0%
Master’s degree	8.7%
Post-doctoral training	2.9%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	2.2%
Post-master’s certificate	1.9%
High school diploma or equivalent	1.7%
Postsecondary certificate	1.1%
Some college courses	0.8%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.7%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in philosophy, politics, and economics?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 47% women and 53% men among philosophy, politics, and economics graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	77	47.0%
Men	87	53.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of philosophy, politics, and economics graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	104	63.4%
Asian	8	4.9%
Hispanic or Latino	20	12.2%
Black or African American	4	2.4%
Two or More Races	5	3.0%
Race Unknown	16	9.8%
International Students	7	4.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

Online philosophy, politics, and economics Programs

Fully online options are documented by IPEDS for philosophy, politics, and economics. 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	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.