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General Human Sciences

Types of Degrees General Human Sciences Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing General Human Sciences can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Associate’s Degree	168
Bachelor’s Degree	1,716
Master’s Degree	302
Doctor’s Degree	41

What General Human Sciences Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in General Human Sciences emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a General Human Sciences program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to General Human Sciences careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, General Human Sciences graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.5 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	3.9 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by General Human Sciences professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—
Course management system software	Computer based training software	—
Social computing tools	Web page creation and editing software	—
Blackboard Learn	Computer based training software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Human Sciences graduates include:

• Adjunct Instructor
• Sewing Teacher
• Teacher
• Nutrition Faculty Member
• Nutrition Instructor
• Dietetics Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Adjunct Professor
• Food and Nutrition Teacher
• College Faculty Member
• University Faculty Member
• Textiles and Clothing Teacher
• Family Consumer Science Teacher (FCS Teacher)
• Lecturer
• Home Economics Teacher

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	43.3%
Doctoral degree	21.9%
Bachelor’s degree	21.8%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	6.3%
Postsecondary certificate	2.2%
Post-master’s certificate	1.5%
Less than a high school diploma	1.4%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	0.8%
Some college courses	0.4%
Post-doctoral training	0.3%
First professional degree	0.1%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Human Sciences?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 86.3% of General Human Sciences degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,921	86.3%
Men	306	13.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of General Human Sciences graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,110	49.8%
Asian	82	3.7%
Hispanic or Latino	477	21.4%
Black or African American	380	17.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	19	0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.0%
Two or More Races	83	3.7%
Race Unknown	26	1.2%
International Students	49	2.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Human Sciences Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of General Human Sciences graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$34,363
4 years	$41,292
5 years	$47,614

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $47,614 — roughly 39% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online General Human Sciences Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for General Human Sciences. 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	2
Bachelor’s	7	5
Master’s	5	6
Doctoral (Research)	1	0

^{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 General Human Sciences Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, General Human Sciences graduates earn a median of $41,292 four years after completion — roughly 9% 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
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General	19.01
Apparel and Textiles, General	19.0901
Business Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences	19.0201
Child Development	19.0706
Consumer Economics	19.0402
Consumer Services and Advocacy	19.0403
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Services, Other	19.0499
Family Resource Management Studies, General	19.0401
Family Systems	19.0704
Housing and Human Environments, General	19.0601

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.