---

history and political science

Types of Degrees history and political science Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing history and political science can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Associate’s Degree	3
Bachelor’s Degree	45
Master’s Degree	21

What history and political science Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in history and political science emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• History and Archeology — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a history and political science program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Abilities

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

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, history and political science graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.5 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.4 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.3 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.2 / 7
Processing Information	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.1 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.0 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by history and political science professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
Blackboard Learn	Computer based training software	—
iParadigms Turnitin	Information retrieval or search software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for history and political science graduates include:

• Lecturer
• Assistant Professor
• College Faculty Member
• Instructor
• College Professor
• Adjunct Instructor
• University Faculty Member
• Professor
• Associate Professor
• Public Administration Teacher
• Adjunct Political Science Instructor
• Geopolitics Teacher
• Political Science Adjunct Professor
• Political Theory Professor
• Adjunct Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to history and political science graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	58.3%
Bachelor’s degree	18.3%
Master’s degree	15.0%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	2.5%
High school diploma or equivalent	1.9%
Some college courses	1.4%
Postsecondary certificate	1.2%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.8%
Post-doctoral training	0.2%
Less than a high school diploma	0.2%
Post-master’s certificate	0.1%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in history and political science?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly male, with men earning 68.1% of history and political science degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	22	31.9%
Men	47	68.1%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of history and political science graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	39	56.5%
Asian	1	1.4%
Hispanic or Latino	16	23.2%
Black or African American	8	11.6%
Two or More Races	1	1.4%
Race Unknown	3	4.3%
International Students	1	1.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

Online history and political science Programs

Distance learning is tracked by IPEDS for history and political science. 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	0
Master’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	CIP Code
History and Political Science	30.46
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics	30.5101
History and Language/Literature	30.4501

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.