Best Social Science Research Assistant programs in Iowa, ranked by enrollment
Assist social scientists in laboratory, survey, and other social science research.
40 schools in Iowa run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,065 people a year. The job pays a median of $40,940 in Iowa across about 140 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Iowa that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
9 programs in Iowa that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Iowa (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 Iowa page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 42.0101In Iowa → | 1,018 | 49.3% | 36 | $31,426 | $25,250 |
| 2 | Behavioral Sciencesmain feeder CIP 30.1701In Iowa → | 360 | 17.4% | 1 | $36,206 | $29,240 |
| 3 | CIP 45.1001In Iowa → | 297 | 14.4% | 22 | $35,631 | $23,538 |
| 4 | CIP 45.1101In Iowa → | 157 | 7.6% | 23 | $34,099 | $25,000 |
| 5 | CIP 45.0601In Iowa → | 121 | 5.9% | 13 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 6 | CIP 45.0603In Iowa → | 84 | 4.1% | 5 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 7 | Social Sciences, Generalmain feeder CIP 45.0101In Iowa → | 20 | 1.0% | 2 | $35,590 | $24,095 |
| 8 | CIP 45.0602In Iowa → | 6 | 0.3% | 1 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 9 | CIP 44.0501In Iowa → | 2 | 0.1% | 1 | $44,740 | $22,000 |
Top 25 schools in Iowa
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 14 of the 40 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA Public · 5 feeder programs | 572 | Behavioral Sciences | — | 75% | — | 84% |
| 2 | Iowa State University Ames, IA Public · 5 feeder programs | 323 | Psychology, General | $34,155 | 75% | — | 89% |
| 3 | University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA Public · 5 feeder programs | 126 | Psychology, General | $32,673 | 68% | — | 93% |
| 4 | Upper Iowa University Fayette, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 122 | Psychology, General | $42,183 | 34% | $22,697 | 96% |
| 5 | Grinnell College Grinnell, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 119 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | $46,791 | 88% | $14,470 | 15% |
| 6 | Waldorf University Forest City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 80 | Psychology, General | $41,193 | 21% | $22,328 | 77% |
| 7 | Drake University Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 74 | Psychology, General | — | 74% | $28,855 | 64% |
| 8 | Des Moines Area Community College Ankeny, IA Public · 3 feeder programs | 61 | Psychology, General | — | 39% | — | — |
| 9 | Saint Ambrose University Davenport, IA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 50 | Psychology, General | $32,627 | 61% | $21,680 | 77% |
| 10 | Wartburg College Waverly, IA Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 42 | Psychology, General | — | 64% | $20,228 | 76% |
| 11 | Coe College Cedar Rapids, IA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 37 | Psychology, General | $37,072 | 66% | $18,153 | 64% |
| 12 | William Penn University Oskaloosa, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 35 | Psychology, General | $35,122 | 33% | $21,533 | 52% |
| 13 | Central College Pella, IA Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 34 | Psychology, General | $29,923 | 66% | $19,732 | 86% |
| 14 | Grand View University Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Psychology, General | $34,709 | 54% | $20,840 | 99% |
| 15 | Iowa Western Community College Council Bluffs, IA Public · 2 feeder programs | 31 | Psychology, General | — | 40% | — | — |
| 16 | Simpson College Indianola, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 26 | Political Science and Government, General | — | 63% | $20,710 | 86% |
| 17 | Loras College Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 24 | Psychology, General | $23,564 | 68% | $19,227 | 100% |
| 18 | Eastern Iowa Community College District Davenport, IA Public · 3 feeder programs | 23 | Psychology, General | — | 45% | — | — |
| 19 | Indian Hills Community College Ottumwa, IA Public · 3 feeder programs | 22 | Psychology, General | — | 40% | — | — |
| 20 | Buena Vista University Storm Lake, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Psychology, General | $35,559 | 62% | $17,609 | 78% |
| 21 | Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 20 | Psychology, General | — | 62% | $23,073 | 80% |
| 22 | Luther College Decorah, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 19 | Economics, General | — | 71% | $22,827 | 72% |
| 23 | University of Dubuque Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 19 | Psychology, General | — | 40% | $21,324 | 89% |
| 24 | Dordt University Sioux Center, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 17 | Psychology, General | — | 70% | $24,569 | 68% |
| 25 | Graceland University - Lamoni Lamoni, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 17 | Psychology, General | — | 42% | $16,430 | 81% |
All 40 schools in Iowa
Every school in Iowa 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 Iowa | Iowa City | Public | 572 | 5 |
| Iowa State University | Ames | Public | 323 | 5 |
| University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls | Public | 126 | 5 |
| Upper Iowa University | Fayette | Private not-for-profit | 122 | 3 |
| Grinnell College | Grinnell | Private not-for-profit | 119 | 3 |
| Waldorf University | Forest City | Private not-for-profit | 80 | 1 |
| Drake University | Des Moines | Private not-for-profit | 74 | 5 |
| Des Moines Area Community College | Ankeny | Public | 61 | 3 |
| Saint Ambrose University | Davenport | Private not-for-profit | 50 | 4 |
| Wartburg College | Waverly | Private not-for-profit | 42 | 5 |
| Coe College | Cedar Rapids | Private not-for-profit | 37 | 4 |
| William Penn University | Oskaloosa | Private not-for-profit | 35 | 2 |
| Central College | Pella | Private not-for-profit | 34 | 5 |
| Grand View University | Des Moines | Private not-for-profit | 32 | 1 |
| Iowa Western Community College | Council Bluffs | Public | 31 | 2 |
What social science research assistants earn in Iowa
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $61,990. Iowa pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Iowa
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 Iowa
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 Iowa.
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 1,018 degrees in Iowa in 2024-25, 49.3% 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 9 programs to this occupation. The largest are Psychology, Behavioral Sciences, Political Science and Government, Economics, plus 3 more. Together they graduate about 2,065 people a year in Iowa.
How much do social science research assistants earn in Iowa?+
The median is $40,940 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 34.0% 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 Iowa?+
40 institutions in Iowa 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 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