Best programs to become a postsecondary sociology teacher in Colorado
21 Colorado schools offer programs that train postsecondary sociology teachers, graduating 588 people a year. Postsecondary sociology teachers in Colorado earn a median of $78,630 across about 220 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry-level education for postsecondary sociology teachers. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in Colorado is Sociology (IPEDS completions).
Teach courses in sociology.
1 program in Colorado that leads to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Colorado (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 Colorado page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 45.1101In Colorado → | 588 | 100.0% | 21 | $34,099 | $25,000 |
Top 21 schools in Colorado
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 10 of the 21 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 161 | Sociology, General | $37,335 | 67% | — | 89% |
| 2 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 156 | Sociology, General | $37,958 | 74% | — | 78% |
| 3 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 39 | Sociology, General | $40,011 | 46% | — | 75% |
| 4 | Adams State University Alamosa, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 29 | Sociology, General | $46,948 | 39% | — | — |
| 5 | University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 27 | Sociology, General | $27,226 | 47% | — | 97% |
| 6 | Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 26 | Sociology, General | — | 88% | $23,510 | 18% |
| 7 | University of Denver Denver, CO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 24 | Sociology, General | — | 76% | $29,726 | 78% |
| 8 | Fort Lewis College Durango, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 23 | Sociology, General | $27,553 | 36% | — | 77% |
| 9 | University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 23 | Sociology, General | $36,077 | 51% | — | 86% |
| 10 | Colorado State University Pueblo Pueblo, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 17 | Sociology, General | $37,389 | 40% | — | 95% |
| 11 | Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 17 | Sociology, General | $42,022 | 32% | — | 99% |
| 12 | Western Colorado University Gunnison, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 11 | Sociology, General | $43,178 | 50% | — | 100% |
| 13 | Front Range Community College Westminster, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 9 | Sociology, General | — | 35% | — | — |
| 14 | Colorado Mesa University Grand Junction, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 6 | Sociology, General | — | 41% | — | 82% |
| 15 | Regis University Denver, CO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 5 | Sociology, General | — | 61% | $22,407 | 86% |
| 16 | Pueblo Community College Pueblo, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 4 | Sociology, General | — | 31% | — | — |
| 17 | Community College of Aurora Aurora, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 3 | Sociology, General | — | 33% | — | — |
| 18 | Community College of Denver Denver, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 3 | Sociology, General | — | 20% | — | — |
| 19 | Pikes Peak State College Colorado Springs, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 3 | Sociology, General | — | 21% | — | — |
| 20 | Northeastern Junior College Sterling, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 1 | Sociology, General | — | 56% | — | — |
| 21 | Red Rocks Community College Lakewood, CO Public · 1 feeder program | 1 | Sociology, General | — | 32% | — | — |
All 21 schools in Colorado
Every school in Colorado 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado State University - Fort Collins | Fort Collins | Public | 161 | 1 |
| University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder | Public | 156 | 1 |
| University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | Denver | Public | 39 | 1 |
| Adams State University | Alamosa | Public | 29 | 1 |
| University of Colorado Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs | Public | 27 | 1 |
| Colorado College | Colorado Springs | Private not-for-profit | 26 | 1 |
| University of Denver | Denver | Private not-for-profit | 24 | 1 |
| Fort Lewis College | Durango | Public | 23 | 1 |
| University of Northern Colorado | Greeley | Public | 23 | 1 |
| Colorado State University Pueblo | Pueblo | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Metropolitan State University of Denver | Denver | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Western Colorado University | Gunnison | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Front Range Community College | Westminster | Public | 9 | 1 |
| Colorado Mesa University | Grand Junction | Public | 6 | 1 |
| Regis University | Denver | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
Fields of study in Colorado that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
What sociology teachers, postsecondary earn in Colorado
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $84,290. Colorado pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Colorado
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 and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary page.
How to become a postsecondary sociology teacher
- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional degree
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Colorado
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 9 majors mapped to Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 45.0103Survey Research/Methodology
- 45.0501Demography and Population Studies
- 45.0502Applied Demography(no graduates reported)
- 45.0599Demography, Other(no graduates reported)
- 45.1101Sociology, General
- 45.1102Applied/Public Sociology
- 45.1103Rural Sociology
- 45.1199Sociology, Other
- 45.1301Sociology and Anthropology
Common questions
Answers for people weighing sociology teachers, postsecondary programs in Colorado.
What degree do you need to become a postsecondary sociology teacher?+
BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry-level education for postsecondary sociology teachers. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in Colorado is Sociology (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a postsecondary sociology teacher?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job in Colorado is Sociology (IPEDS completions). In all, 1 feeder program graduates about 588 people a year in Colorado (IPEDS completions).
How much do sociology teachers, postsecondary earn in Colorado?+
The median is $78,630 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 6.7% below the U.S. median of $84,290. 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 sociology teachers, postsecondary growing?+
BLS projects a +2.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Colorado?+
21 institutions in Colorado reported graduates from at least one of the 1 program 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 sociology teachers, postsecondary work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Assistant Professor, Sociology Professor, Sociology Instructor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1067.
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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