General Social Sciences

Types of Degrees General Social Sciences Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general social sciences graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	596
Graduate Certificate	143
Doctor’s Degree	6

What General Social Sciences Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to social sciences and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Social Sciences Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Social Sciences Majors

When studying social sciences, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Social Sciences Majors

As a social sciences major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a General Social Sciences Major?

People with a social sciences degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
City and Regional Planning Aides	4.4%	$46,640
Clinical Data Managers	33.9%	$87,780
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Investment Fund Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$60,320
Security Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Social Science Research Assistants	4.4%	$46,640
Social Sciences Professors	9.8%	$71,600
Statisticians	33.9%	$87,780
Supply Chain Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Survey Researchers	2.1%	$57,700
Transportation Planners	6.7%	$81,340

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in General Social Sciences?

The major attracts more women than men. About 62% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of social sciences majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	25
Black or African American	120
Hispanic or Latino	53
White	243
International Students	95
Other Races/Ethnicities	60

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Social Sciences, too. About 15.9% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• South Korea
• Canada
• United Kingdom
• Japan

How Much Do General Social Sciences Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The median early-career salary of general social sciences students with a master’s degree is $42,124 a year according to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $39,762 (25th percentile) and $49,767 (75th percentile).

It’s important to note that just because the people reporting these salaries have a degree in social sciences, it does not mean that they are working in a job related to their degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $63,240 to $90,290 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to social sciences. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General Social Sciences

Some careers associated with social sciences require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for social sciences careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.8%
Some College Courses	1.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	51.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.3%
Master’s Degree	29.6%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.7%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.8%
Doctoral Degree	7.7%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.3%

Online General Social Sciences Programs

In 2020-2021, 527 schools offered a social sciences program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	4	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	163	33
Bachelor’s Degree	33	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	56	7
Post-Master’s	6	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	9	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in General Social Sciences Worth It?

The median salary for a social sciences grad is $85,750 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 115% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $917,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to General Social Sciences

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to social sciences.

Major	Number of Grads
Economics	6,173
International Relations & National Security	5,010
Political Science & Government	2,664
Geography & Cartography	2,315
Sociology	1,907
Anthropology	1,446
Criminology	936
Other Social Sciences	532
Urban Studies	432
Archeology	66
Demography & Population Studies	66
Sociology & Anthropology	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Manfred Werner (Tsui) under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.