Best Political Science Teacher, Postsecondary programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Teach courses in political science, international affairs, and international relations.
174 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 9,285 people a year. The job pays a median of $124,890 in California across about 1,060 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
9 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 45.1001In California → | 7,165 | 77.2% | 170 | $35,631 | $23,538 |
| 2 | CIP 45.0901In California → | 829 | 8.9% | 27 | $37,878 | $21,750 |
| 3 | CIP 44.0501In California → | 735 | 7.9% | 15 | $44,740 | $22,000 |
| 4 | CIP 45.0999In California → | 223 | 2.4% | 4 | $37,878 | $21,750 |
| 5 | CIP 45.1099In California → | 159 | 1.7% | 4 | $35,631 | $23,538 |
| 6 | CIP 45.0902In California → | 125 | 1.3% | 4 | $37,878 | $21,750 |
| 7 | CIP 44.0504In California → | 24 | 0.3% | 2 | $44,740 | $22,000 |
| 8 | CIP 45.1004In California → | 24 | 0.3% | 3 | $35,631 | $23,538 |
| 9 | CIP 45.1002In California → | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | $35,631 | $23,538 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 45 of the 174 schools in this state.
All 174 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 905 | 2 |
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 559 | 4 |
| University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley | Public | 525 | 2 |
| University of California - Davis | Davis | Public | 449 | 3 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 425 | 5 |
| University of California - Riverside | Riverside | Public | 367 | 4 |
| University of California - Irvine | Irvine | Public | 347 | 2 |
| San Diego State University | San Diego | Public | 275 | 4 |
| University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | Public | 249 | 1 |
| Naval Postgraduate School | Monterey | Public | 241 | 2 |
| Stanford University | Stanford | Private not-for-profit | 239 | 3 |
| Santa Monica College | Santa Monica | Public | 222 | 2 |
| California State University - Northridge | Northridge | Public | 181 | 1 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 176 | 2 |
| California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento | Public | 158 | 1 |
What political science teachers, postsecondary earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $98,070. California pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary page.
How to become a Political Science Teacher, Postsecondary
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 12 majors mapped to Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary12 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 30.4601History and Political Science
- 30.5101Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
- 44.0501Public Policy Analysis, General
- 44.0502Education Policy Analysis
- 44.0504International Policy Analysis
- 45.0901International Relations and Affairs
- 45.0902National Security Policy Studies
- 45.0999International Relations and National Security Studies, Other
- 45.1001Political Science and Government, General
- 45.1002American Government and Politics (United States)
- 45.1004Political Economy
- 45.1099Political Science and Government, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing political science teachers, postsecondary programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Political Science Teacher, Postsecondary?+
Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Political Science and Government, General, which awarded 7,165 degrees in California in 2024-25, 77.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Political Science Teacher, Postsecondary?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 9 programs to this occupation. The largest are Political Science and Government, International Relations and National Security Studies, Public Policy Analysis. Together they graduate about 9,285 people a year in California.
How much do political science teachers, postsecondary earn in California?+
The median is $124,890 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 27.3% above the U.S. median of $98,070. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for political science teachers, postsecondary growing?+
BLS projects a +2.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
174 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 9 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do political science teachers, postsecondary work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Associate Professor, Political Science Professor, Political Science Instructor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1065.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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