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Social Foundations of Education

Types of Degrees Social Foundations of Education Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Social Foundations of Education have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	2
Bachelor’s Degree	455
Master’s Degree	389
Doctor’s Degree	109

What Social Foundations of Education Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Social Foundations of Education emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5.9 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 6.3 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Communications and Media — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills built by a Social Foundations of Education program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Social Foundations of Education careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Social Foundations of Education graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.7 / 7
Getting Information	4.7 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.5 / 7
Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.2 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Social Foundations of Education professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Course management system software	Computer based training software	—
VoiceThread	Computer based training software	—
SAS	Analytical or scientific software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
Editing software	Word processing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Desmos	Analytical or scientific software	—
Calendar and scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Blackboard Learn	Computer based training software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Social Foundations of Education graduates include:

• College Professor
• Education Professor
• Outdoor Education Instructor
• Secondary Education Professor
• Adult Basic Education Instructor
• Instructor
• Special Education Professor
• Counselor Education Professor
• Educational Instructor
• Mathematics Education Professor
• Lecturer
• Continuing Education Instructor
• Science Education Professor
• Professor
• Educator

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	89.8%
Master’s degree	9.4%
Bachelor’s degree	0.6%
Post-doctoral training	0.1%
Post-master’s certificate	0.1%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Social Foundations of Education?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 78.3% of Social Foundations of Education degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	748	78.3%
Men	207	21.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Social Foundations of Education graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	348	36.4%
Asian	91	9.5%
Hispanic or Latino	292	30.6%
Black or African American	70	7.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native	2	0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	3	0.3%
Two or More Races	41	4.3%
Race Unknown	26	2.7%
International Students	82	8.6%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Social Foundations of Education Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Social Foundations of Education 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	$47,147
4 years	$69,026
5 years	$75,081

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $75,081 — roughly 59% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online Social Foundations of Education Programs

Distance learning is tracked by IPEDS for Social Foundations of Education. 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
Master’s	6	4

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

Is a Degree in Social Foundations of Education Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Social Foundations of Education graduates earn a median of $69,026 four years after completion — roughly 82% 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
Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education	13.09
Agricultural Teacher Education	13.1301
Art Teacher Education	13.1302
Bilingual and Multilingual Education	13.0201
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education, Other	13.0299
Biology Teacher Education	13.1322
Business and Innovation/Entrepreneurship Teacher Education	13.1303
Chemistry Teacher Education	13.1323
College/Postsecondary/University Teaching	13.1214
Communication Arts and Literature Teacher Education	13.1339
Computer Teacher Education	13.1321

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.