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General Social Sciences

Types of Degrees General Social Sciences Majors Are Earning

People majoring in General Social Sciences may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	8
Associate’s Degree	9,566
Bachelor’s Degree	5,487
Master’s Degree	490
Doctor’s Degree	14

What General Social Sciences Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing General Social Sciences emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills emphasized by a General Social Sciences program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

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

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

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

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.4 / 7
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Working with Computers	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.1 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.0 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

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

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

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Social Sciences graduates include:

• Science Teacher
• Social Science Professor
• Weight Control Lecturer
• College Teacher
• Family Consumer Science Teacher
• Industrial Arts Teacher
• Liberal Arts Teacher
• Foreign Service Teacher
• City Planning Teacher
• Military Science Teacher
• Humanities Teacher
• Naval Science Teacher
• Urban Planning Professor
• Survey Research Professor
• Lecturer

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	65.5%
Master’s degree	9.9%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	7.1%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	4.3%
High school diploma or equivalent	4.3%
Some college courses	2.9%
Postsecondary certificate	2.8%
Post-master’s certificate	2.7%
Doctoral degree	0.5%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Social Sciences?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 67% of General Social Sciences degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	10,429	67.0%
Men	5,136	33.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	5,936	38.1%
Asian	1,048	6.7%
Hispanic or Latino	4,988	32.0%
Black or African American	1,695	10.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native	127	0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	69	0.4%
Two or More Races	886	5.7%
Race Unknown	440	2.8%
International Students	376	2.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Social Sciences Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of General Social Sciences graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$37,528
4 years	$43,428
5 years	$50,073

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $50,073 — roughly 33% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online General Social Sciences Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for General Social 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	51	14
Bachelor’s	44	19
Master’s	5	6

^{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 Social Sciences Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, General Social Sciences graduates earn a median of $43,428 four years after completion — roughly 14% 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 Sciences, General	45.01
Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods	45.0102
Social Sciences, Other	45.0199
Survey Research/Methodology	45.0103
Economics, General	45.0601
Political Science and Government, General	45.1001
Social Sciences, Other	45.9999
American Government and Politics (United States)	45.1002
Applied Demography	45.0502
Applied Economics	45.0602
Applied/Public Sociology	45.1102

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.