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social entrepreneurship

Types of Degrees social entrepreneurship Majors Are Earning

People majoring in social entrepreneurship have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	68
Master’s Degree	9

What social entrepreneurship Majors Need to Know

Coursework for social entrepreneurship build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that social entrepreneurship graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in social entrepreneurship emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Administration and Management — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Personnel and Human Resources — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set built by a social entrepreneurship program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

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

Abilities

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

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, social entrepreneurship graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.5 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.3 / 7
Working with Computers	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by social entrepreneurship professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Project	Project management software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Adobe Acrobat	Document management software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for social entrepreneurship graduates include:

• Publication Director
• Laundry Superintendent
• Program Manager
• Fish and Game Club Manager
• Gym Manager
• Public Works Director
• Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)
• Compliance Director
• Branch Chief
• Handicraft or Hobby Shop Manager
• Chamber of Commerce Division Manager
• Mining Manager
• Water Registrar
• Safety Coordinator
• Project Manager

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to social entrepreneurship graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	43.9%
Master’s degree	28.8%
High school diploma or equivalent	7.0%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	6.6%
Some college courses	3.7%
Postsecondary certificate	3.0%
Post-master’s certificate	2.6%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.6%
Doctoral degree	1.3%
Less than a high school diploma	0.8%
Post-doctoral training	0.5%
First professional degree	0.1%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in social entrepreneurship?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 62.3% of social entrepreneurship degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	48	62.3%
Men	29	37.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of social entrepreneurship graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	49	63.6%
Asian	6	7.8%
Hispanic or Latino	4	5.2%
Black or African American	4	5.2%
Two or More Races	5	6.5%
Race Unknown	1	1.3%
International Students	8	10.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do social entrepreneurship Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of social entrepreneurship graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$51,538
4 years	$61,024
5 years	$67,263

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $67,263 — roughly 31% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in social entrepreneurship Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, social entrepreneurship graduates earn a median of $61,024 four years after completion — roughly 61% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

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

Program	CIP Code
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	52.07
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations, Other	52.0799
Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies	52.0701
Franchising and Franchise Operations	52.0702
Small Business Administration/Management	52.0703
Business Administration and Management, General	52.0201
Business/Commerce, General	52.0101
Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management	52.0206
Finance, General	52.0801
International Business/Trade/Commerce	52.1101
Management Science	52.1301

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.