Best Social Science Research Assistant programs in Florida, ranked by enrollment
Assist social scientists in laboratory, survey, and other social science research.
45 schools in Florida run programs that feed this job, graduating 13,623 people a year. The job pays a median of $50,700 in Florida across about 1,130 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Florida that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
10 programs in Florida that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Florida (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 Florida page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 42.0101In Florida → | 8,800 | 64.6% | 42 | $31,426 | $25,250 |
| 2 | CIP 45.1001In Florida → | 2,362 | 17.3% | 30 | $35,631 | $23,538 |
| 3 | CIP 45.0601In Florida → | 908 | 6.7% | 19 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 4 | CIP 45.1101In Florida → | 626 | 4.6% | 21 | $34,099 | $25,000 |
| 5 | Social Sciences, Generalmain feeder CIP 45.0101In Florida → | 496 | 3.6% | 8 | $35,590 | $24,095 |
| 6 | CIP 45.0603In Florida → | 378 | 2.8% | 8 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 7 | CIP 44.0501In Florida → | 23 | 0.2% | 5 | $44,740 | $22,000 |
| 8 | CIP 45.0602In Florida → | 21 | 0.2% | 1 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 9 | CIP 45.1004In Florida → | 5 | 0.0% | 2 | $35,631 | $23,538 |
| 10 | Behavioral Sciencesmain feeder CIP 30.1701In Florida → | 4 | 0.0% | 2 | $36,206 | $29,240 |
Top 25 schools in Florida
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 28 of the 45 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Central Florida Orlando, FL Public · 6 feeder programs | 2,161 | Psychology, General | $31,013 | 78% | — | 40% |
| 2 | Florida International University Miami, FL Public · 6 feeder programs | 2,151 | Psychology, General | $30,218 | 74% | — | 55% |
| 3 | Florida State University Tallahassee, FL Public · 6 feeder programs | 1,911 | Psychology, General | $30,140 | 86% | — | 24% |
| 4 | University of South Florida Tampa, FL Public · 6 feeder programs | 1,485 | Psychology, General | $32,438 | 77% | — | 43% |
| 5 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL Public · 5 feeder programs | 1,476 | Psychology, General | $26,003 | 91% | — | 24% |
| 6 | Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL Public · 5 feeder programs | 565 | Psychology, General | $30,765 | 63% | — | 66% |
| 7 | University of Miami Coral Gables, FL Private not-for-profit · 7 feeder programs | 489 | Psychology, General | $30,417 | 84% | $26,589 | 19% |
| 8 | Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL Public · 4 feeder programs | 379 | Psychology, General | $30,367 | 57% | — | 63% |
| 9 | University of West Florida Pensacola, FL Public · 4 feeder programs | 298 | Psychology, General | $27,563 | 59% | — | 58% |
| 10 | Saint Leo University Saint Leo, FL Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 280 | Psychology, General | $36,139 | 45% | $18,986 | 78% |
| 11 | Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 263 | Psychology, General | $32,346 | 61% | $35,483 | 97% |
| 12 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Tallahassee, FL Public · 5 feeder programs | 254 | Psychology, General | $29,264 | 53% | — | 21% |
| 13 | The University of Tampa Tampa, FL Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 247 | Psychology, General | $31,016 | 64% | $33,070 | 40% |
| 14 | Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale, FL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 163 | Psychology, General | $24,711 | 63% | $31,672 | 73% |
| 15 | Ana G. Mendez University Orlando, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 158 | Psychology, General | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | University of Florida - Online Gainesville, FL Public · 2 feeder programs | 115 | Psychology, General | $26,003 | 85% | — | 61% |
| 17 | Rollins College Winter Park, FL Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 113 | Psychology, General | $28,364 | 75% | $31,438 | 48% |
| 18 | University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL Public · 3 feeder programs | 112 | Political Science and Government, General | $37,841 | 69% | — | 53% |
| 19 | Albizu University - Miami Miami, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 94 | Psychology, General | — | 40% | $36,302 | 76% |
| 20 | Florida National University - Main Campus Hialeah, FL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 84 | Psychology, General | — | 31% | $24,775 | — |
| 21 | Southeastern University Lakeland, FL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 82 | Psychology, General | $26,915 | 43% | $29,915 | 53% |
| 22 | Bethune - Cookman University Daytona Beach, FL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 80 | Psychology, General | — | 31% | $16,818 | 88% |
| 23 | Jacksonville University Jacksonville, FL Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 77 | Psychology, General | — | 51% | $25,813 | 57% |
| 24 | Lynn University Boca Raton, FL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 76 | Psychology, General | — | 52% | $38,343 | 73% |
| 25 | Flagler College Saint Augustine, FL Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 71 | Psychology, General | $28,893 | 56% | $28,070 | 81% |
All 45 schools in Florida
Every school in Florida 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 Central Florida | Orlando | Public | 2,161 | 6 |
| Florida International University | Miami | Public | 2,151 | 6 |
| Florida State University | Tallahassee | Public | 1,911 | 6 |
| University of South Florida | Tampa | Public | 1,485 | 6 |
| University of Florida | Gainesville | Public | 1,476 | 5 |
| Florida Atlantic University | Boca Raton | Public | 565 | 5 |
| University of Miami | Coral Gables | Private not-for-profit | 489 | 7 |
| Florida Gulf Coast University | Fort Myers | Public | 379 | 4 |
| University of West Florida | Pensacola | Public | 298 | 4 |
| Saint Leo University | Saint Leo | Private not-for-profit | 280 | 4 |
| Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale | Fort Lauderdale | Private not-for-profit | 263 | 2 |
| Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | Tallahassee | Public | 254 | 5 |
| The University of Tampa | Tampa | Private not-for-profit | 247 | 4 |
| Nova Southeastern University | Fort Lauderdale | Private not-for-profit | 163 | 3 |
| Ana G. Mendez University | Orlando | Private not-for-profit | 158 | 1 |
What social science research assistants earn in Florida
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $61,990. Florida pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Florida
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 Social Science Research Assistants page.
How to become a Social Science Research Assistant
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational 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 Florida
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 19 majors mapped to Social Science Research Assistants19 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 03.0204Environmental/Natural Resource Economics
- 30.1701Behavioral Sciences
- 30.4601History and Political Science
- 42.0101Psychology, General
- 42.2708Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology
- 44.0501Public Policy Analysis, General
- 44.0502Education Policy Analysis
- 44.0503Health Policy Analysis
- 44.0504International Policy Analysis
- 45.0101Social Sciences, General
- 45.0103Survey Research/Methodology
- 45.0601Economics, General
- 45.0602Applied Economics
- 45.0603Econometrics and Quantitative Economics
- 45.0604Development Economics and International Development
- 45.1001Political Science and Government, General
- 45.1004Political Economy
- 45.1101Sociology, General
- 45.1102Applied/Public Sociology
Common questions
Answers for people weighing social science research assistants programs in Florida.
What degree do you need to become a Social Science Research Assistant?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Psychology, General, which awarded 8,800 degrees in Florida in 2024-25, 64.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Social Science Research Assistant?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 10 programs to this occupation. The largest are Psychology, Political Science and Government, Economics, Sociology, plus 3 more. Together they graduate about 13,623 people a year in Florida.
How much do social science research assistants earn in Florida?+
The median is $50,700 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 18.2% below the U.S. median of $61,990. 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 social science research assistants growing?+
BLS projects a +4.4% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 5,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Florida?+
45 institutions in Florida reported graduates from at least one of the 10 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 social science research assistants work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Research Assistant, Research Associate, Social Research Assistant, Graduate Research Assistant among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4061.
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
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card