Sociology

Types of Degrees Sociology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many sociology graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	25,951
Associate Degree	5,109
Master’s Degree	1,358
Doctor’s Degree	602
Basic Certificate	127
Graduate Certificate	47

What Sociology Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to sociology and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Sociology Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in sociology should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Sociology Majors

When studying sociology, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Sociology Majors

As a sociology major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Sociology Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with sociology:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Investment Fund Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Sociology Professors	9.5%	$74,140

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology?

This is one of the most frequently chosen undergraduate majors. It is the 19th most popular in the country with 29,576 students graduating with a bachelor’s in sociology in 2021. This major is dominated by women with about 76% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of sociology majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1,713
Black or African American	3,688
Hispanic or Latino	7,709
White	9,944
International Students	792
Other Races/Ethnicities	2,105

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Sociology. About 3.1% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Sociology

Some careers associated with sociology require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to sociology have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.6%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.2%
Some College Courses	0.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	33.4%
Master’s Degree	27.2%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.3%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.2%
Doctoral Degree	33.0%

Online Sociology Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	212	36
Bachelor’s Degree	26	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	239	10
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	122	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Sociology

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to sociology.

Major	Number of Grads
Political Science & Government	46,438
Economics	46,225
General Social Sciences	17,458
International Relations & National Security	14,086
Anthropology	10,899
Geography & Cartography	7,541
Other Social Sciences	2,069
Urban Studies	1,301
Sociology & Anthropology	552
Archeology	339
Demography & Population Studies	81

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Kontos under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.