Kansas·Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations·SOC 19-3099

Best Social Scientist programs in Kansas, ranked by enrollment

All social scientists and related workers not listed.

13 schools in Kansas run programs that feed this job, graduating 382 people a year. The job pays a median of $85,160 in Kansas across about 310 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledPlannerProgram OfficerTransportation PlannerTransportation Data Programs ManagerLinguistDemographerEthnologistEtymologist
Graduates / yr
382
in Kansas
Median pay · Kansas
$85,160
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
310
people employed
Schools
13
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
48%
across those schools
Median net price
$24,826
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Kansas that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
CIP 30.27
Human Biology
113graduates / yr
3 schools · 1 specialization · 29.6% of pipeline
Grad earnings $31,690
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
CIP 30.17
Behavioral Sciences
103graduates / yr
2 schools · 1 specialization · 27.0% of pipeline
Grad earnings $36,206
Social Sciences
CIP 45.01
Social Sciences
71graduates / yr
4 schools · 1 specialization · 18.6% of pipeline
Grad earnings $35,590
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
CIP 30.44
Geography and Environmental Studies
35graduates / yr
2 schools · 1 specialization · 9.2% of pipeline
Grad earnings
Social Sciences
CIP 45.99
Social Sciences
15graduates / yr
1 schools · 1 specialization · 3.9% of pipeline
Grad earnings $36,279
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
CIP 30.23
Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies
10graduates / yr
3 schools · 1 specialization · 2.6% of pipeline
Grad earnings $25,750
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
CIP 30.33
Sustainability Studies
10graduates / yr
2 schools · 1 specialization · 2.6% of pipeline
Grad earnings $37,223
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
CIP 30.11
Gerontology
8graduates / yr
1 schools · 1 specialization · 2.1% of pipeline
Grad earnings $37,623
Family And Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
CIP 19.07
Human Development
6graduates / yr
1 schools · 1 specialization · 1.6% of pipeline
Grad earnings $31,642
Public Administration And Social Service Professions
CIP 44.05
Public Policy Analysis
5graduates / yr
1 schools · 1 specialization · 1.3% of pipeline
Grad earnings $44,740
Education
CIP 13.06
Educational Assessment
2graduates / yr
1 schools · 1 specialization · 0.5% of pipeline
Grad earnings $33,086
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
CIP 30.46
History and Political Science
2graduates / yr
1 schools · 1 specialization · 0.5% of pipeline
Grad earnings
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
CIP 30.51
Philosophy
2graduates / yr
1 schools · 1 specialization · 0.5% of pipeline
Grad earnings

13 programs in Kansas that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Kansas (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 Kansas page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 30.2701In Kansas
113
29.6%
3$31,690$17,312
2
CIP 30.1701In Kansas
103
27.0%
2$36,206$29,240
3
CIP 45.0101In Kansas
71
18.6%
4$35,590$24,095
4
CIP 30.4401In Kansas
35
9.2%
2
5
CIP 45.9999In Kansas
15
3.9%
1$36,279$25,312
6
CIP 30.2301In Kansas
10
2.6%
3$25,750$18,622
7
CIP 30.3301In Kansas
10
2.6%
2$37,223$20,968
8
CIP 30.1101In Kansas
8
2.1%
1$37,623$25,986
9
CIP 19.0702In Kansas
6
1.6%
1$31,642$23,092
10
CIP 44.0503In Kansas
5
1.3%
1$44,740$22,000
11
CIP 13.0601In Kansas
2
0.5%
1$33,086$26,000
12
CIP 30.4601In Kansas
2
0.5%
1
13
CIP 30.5101In Kansas
2
0.5%
1

Top 13 schools in Kansas

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 13 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS Public · 5 feeder programs
224Human Biology69%93%
2Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS Public · 5 feeder programs
51Social Sciences, General$40,79371%82%
3Butler Community College
El Dorado, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
33Social Sciences, General32%
4Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
22Behavioral Sciences57%89%
5Wichita State University
Wichita, KS Public · 3 feeder programs
16Sustainability Studies51%94%
6Southwestern College
Winfield, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
15Social Sciences, Other36%$26,86876%
7Baker University
Baldwin City, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
8Human Biology58%$21,40494%
8Sterling College
Sterling, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Human Biology41%$22,40648%
9Friends University
Wichita, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2History and Political Science43%$24,08455%
10Independence Community College
Independence, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
2Social Sciences, General26%
11MidAmerica Nazarene University
Olathe, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies54%$28,84579%
12Ottawa University - Ottawa
Ottawa, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Philosophy, Politics, and Economics28%$26,93583%
13Benedictine College
Atchison, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Social Sciences, General62%$24,82698%

All 13 schools in Kansas

Every school in Kansas 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.

All schools in Kansas that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of KansasLawrencePublic2245
Kansas State UniversityManhattanPublic515
Butler Community CollegeEl DoradoPublic331
Pittsburg State UniversityPittsburgPublic221
Wichita State UniversityWichitaPublic163
Southwestern CollegeWinfieldPrivate not-for-profit151
Baker UniversityBaldwin CityPrivate not-for-profit81
Sterling CollegeSterlingPrivate not-for-profit41
Friends UniversityWichitaPrivate not-for-profit21
Independence Community CollegeIndependencePublic21
MidAmerica Nazarene UniversityOlathePrivate not-for-profit21
Ottawa University - OttawaOttawaPrivate not-for-profit21
Benedictine CollegeAtchisonPrivate not-for-profit11

What social scientists and related workers, all other earn in Kansas

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Kansas
$85,160
Mean annual
$90,870
Jobs in state
310
What the range looks like
10th pct$66,250Median$85,16090th pct$132,080
Versus the national median
-15.8%

U.S. median $101,110. Kansas pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.89×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Kansas

Topeka, KS
$85,160median
60 jobs
Wichita, KS
$81,330median
60 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-1.7%
Decline
Openings per year
3,200
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-700
40,800 → 40,100
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

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 Scientists and Related Workers, All Other page.

How to become a Social Scientist

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

Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningCritical ThinkingWritingSpeakingActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Kansas

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 25 majors mapped to Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other25 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 03.0209Energy and Environmental Policy
  • 13.0601Educational Evaluation and Research
  • 13.0603Educational Statistics and Research Methods
  • 13.0604Educational Assessment, Testing, and Measurement
  • 13.0607Learning Sciences
  • 13.0699Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research, Other
  • 16.0199Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services, Other
  • 19.0702Adult Development and Aging
  • 30.0501Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
  • 30.1001Biopsychology
  • 30.1101Gerontology
  • 30.1701Behavioral Sciences
  • 30.2101Holocaust and Related Studies
  • 30.2301Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies
  • 30.2601Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis
  • 30.2701Human Biology
  • 30.3301Sustainability Studies
  • 30.3401Anthrozoology
  • 30.4001Economics and Foreign Language/Literature
  • 30.4201Geoarcheaology
  • 30.4401Geography and Environmental Studies
  • 30.4601History and Political Science
  • 30.4701Linguistics and Anthropology
  • 30.5101Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
  • 44.0502Education Policy Analysis

Common questions

Answers for people weighing social scientists and related workers, all other programs in Kansas.

What degree do you need to become a Social Scientist?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Human Biology, which awarded 113 degrees in Kansas in 2024-25, 29.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Social Scientist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 13 programs to this occupation. The largest are Human Biology, Behavioral Sciences, Social Sciences, Geography and Environmental Studies, plus 9 more. Together they graduate about 382 people a year in Kansas.

How much do social scientists and related workers, all other earn in Kansas?+

The median is $85,160 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 15.8% below the U.S. median of $101,110. 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 scientists and related workers, all other growing?+

BLS projects a -1.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 3,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Kansas?+

13 institutions in Kansas reported graduates from at least one of the 13 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 scientists and related workers, all other work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Planner, Program Officer, Transportation Planner, Transportation Data Programs Manager among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-3099.

Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other in other statesCaliforniaUtahNew YorkMassachusettsIndianaIllinoisVirginiaTexas

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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