Best Sociologist programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment
Study human society and social behavior by examining the groups and social institutions that people form, as well as various social, religious, political, and business organizations.
16 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 299 people a year. The job pays a median of $136,870 in Kentucky across about 30 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
6 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (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 Kentucky page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sociology, Generalmain feeder CIP 45.1101In Kentucky → | 189 | 63.2% | 15 | $34,099 | $25,000 |
| 2 | Criminologymain feeder CIP 45.0401In Kentucky → | 74 | 24.7% | 1 | $37,366 | $25,000 |
| 3 | Sociology and Anthropologymain feeder CIP 45.1301In Kentucky → | 14 | 4.7% | 2 | $28,378 | $24,924 |
| 4 | CIP 45.0102In Kentucky → | 11 | 3.7% | 1 | $35,590 | $24,095 |
| 5 | CIP 45.1201In Kentucky → | 9 | 3.0% | 1 | $40,294 | $21,775 |
| 6 | CIP 51.3204In Kentucky → | 2 | 0.7% | 2 | $99,851 | $21,475 |
Top 16 schools in Kentucky
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 5 of the 16 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 84 | Criminology | $32,370 | 56% | — | 94% |
| 2 | University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 48 | Sociology, General | $34,922 | 71% | — | 93% |
| 3 | Morehead State University Morehead, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 47 | Sociology, General | $34,511 | 52% | — | 77% |
| 4 | University of Louisville Louisville, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 43 | Sociology, General | $32,818 | 61% | — | 79% |
| 5 | Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Sociology, General | — | 50% | — | 78% |
| 6 | Georgetown College Georgetown, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Sociology, General | — | 49% | $12,666 | 91% |
| 7 | Centre College Danville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Sociology and Anthropology | $29,054 | 81% | $18,407 | 54% |
| 8 | Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Sociology, General | — | 52% | — | 68% |
| 9 | Berea College Berea, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Sociology, General | — | 58% | $5,274 | 19% |
| 10 | Bellarmine University Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 5 | Sociology and Anthropology | — | 64% | $22,542 | 86% |
| 11 | Asbury University Wilmore, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Sociology, General | — | 65% | $19,816 | 63% |
| 12 | Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Sociology, General | — | 42% | $18,824 | 80% |
| 13 | Murray State University Murray, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 4 | Sociology, General | — | 61% | — | 86% |
| 14 | Transylvania University Lexington, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Sociology, General | — | 71% | $21,881 | 87% |
| 15 | Union Commonwealth University Barbourville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Sociology, General | — | 32% | $28,386 | 63% |
| 16 | University of Pikeville Pikeville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Sociology, General | — | 42% | $13,886 | — |
All 16 schools in Kentucky
Every school in Kentucky 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green | Public | 84 | 2 |
| University of Kentucky | Lexington | Public | 48 | 2 |
| Morehead State University | Morehead | Public | 47 | 1 |
| University of Louisville | Louisville | Public | 43 | 2 |
| Eastern Kentucky University | Richmond | Public | 16 | 1 |
| Georgetown College | Georgetown | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
| Centre College | Danville | Private not-for-profit | 11 | 1 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights | Public | 9 | 1 |
| Berea College | Berea | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 1 |
| Bellarmine University | Louisville | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 3 |
| Asbury University | Wilmore | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Campbellsville University | Campbellsville | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Murray State University | Murray | Public | 4 | 2 |
| Transylvania University | Lexington | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Union Commonwealth University | Barbourville | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What sociologists earn in Kentucky
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $106,030. Kentucky pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
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 Sociologists page.
How to become a Sociologist
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Master's 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 Kentucky
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 13 majors mapped to Sociologists11 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 45.0102Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods
- 45.0103Survey Research/Methodology
- 45.0401Criminology
- 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
- 45.1201Urban Studies/Affairs
- 45.1301Sociology and Anthropology
- 51.3204Medical/Health Humanities
Common questions
Answers for people weighing sociologists programs in Kentucky.
What degree do you need to become a Sociologist?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Sociology, General, which awarded 189 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 63.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Sociologist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Sociology, Criminology, Sociology and Anthropology, Social Sciences, plus 2 more. Together they graduate about 299 people a year in Kentucky.
How much do sociologists earn in Kentucky?+
The median is $136,870 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 29.1% above the U.S. median of $106,030. 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 sociologists growing?+
BLS projects a +3.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Kentucky?+
16 institutions in Kentucky reported graduates from at least one of the 6 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 sociologists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Demographer, Sociologist, Social Scientist, Medical Sociologist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-3041.
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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