Mississippi·Educational Instruction and Library Occupations·SOC 25-1065

Best Political Science Teacher, Postsecondary programs in Mississippi, ranked by enrollment

Teach courses in political science, international affairs, and international relations.

12 schools in Mississippi run programs that feed this job, graduating 328 people a year. The job pays a median of $59,270 in Mississippi across about 90 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledProfessorAssociate ProfessorPolitical Science ProfessorPolitical Science InstructorLecturerInstructorFaculty MemberAdjunct Professor
Graduates / yr
328
in Mississippi
Median pay · Mississippi
$59,270
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
90
people employed
Schools
12
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
53%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,096
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Mississippi that lead to this job

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

4 programs in Mississippi that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Mississippi (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 Mississippi page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1229
69.8%
12$35,631$23,538
262
18.9%
1$44,740$22,000
331
9.5%
1$37,878$21,750
46
1.8%
1$35,631$23,538

Top 12 schools in Mississippi

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 12 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 Mississippi
University, MS Public · 3 feeder programs
169Political Science and Government, General$33,37372%97%
2Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, MS Public · 2 feeder programs
65Political Science and Government, General$29,44267%78%
3Jackson State University
Jackson, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
27Political Science and Government, General51%93%
4University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
18Political Science and Government, General49%99%
5Mississippi Christian University
Clinton, MS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
12Political Science and Government, General59%$21,09629%
6Millsaps College
Jackson, MS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
9Political Science and Government, General57%$25,24943%
7Tougaloo College
Tougaloo, MS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Political Science and Government, General33%$19,06960%
8Mississippi University for Women
Columbus, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
6Political Science and Government, General47%90%
9Alcorn State University
Alcorn State, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
4Political Science and Government, General57%45%
10Copiah - Lincoln Community College
Wesson, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
4Political Science and Government, General50%
11East Mississippi Community College
Scooba, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
4Political Science and Government, General48%
12Itawamba Community College
Fulton, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
3Political Science and Government, General50%

All 12 schools in Mississippi

Every school in Mississippi 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 Mississippi that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of MississippiUniversityPublic1693
Mississippi State UniversityMississippi StatePublic652
Jackson State UniversityJacksonPublic271
University of Southern MississippiHattiesburgPublic181
Mississippi Christian UniversityClintonPrivate not-for-profit121
Millsaps CollegeJacksonPrivate not-for-profit91
Tougaloo CollegeTougalooPrivate not-for-profit71
Mississippi University for WomenColumbusPublic61
Alcorn State UniversityAlcorn StatePublic41
Copiah - Lincoln Community CollegeWessonPublic41
East Mississippi Community CollegeScoobaPublic41
Itawamba Community CollegeFultonPublic31

What political science teachers, postsecondary earn in Mississippi

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

Median annual in Mississippi
$59,270
Mean annual
$66,770
Jobs in state
90
What the range looks like
10th pct$44,700Median$59,27090th pct$90,100
Versus the national median
-39.6%

U.S. median $98,070. Mississippi pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.71×

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

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+2.0%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
1,600
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
400
21,800 → 22,200
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional 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 Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary page.

How to become a Political Science Teacher, Postsecondary

Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional 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

SpeakingReading ComprehensionActive LearningActive ListeningWritingLearning Strategies

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in Mississippi

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 12 majors mapped to Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary12 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 30.4601History and Political Science
  • 30.5101Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
  • 44.0501Public Policy Analysis, General
  • 44.0502Education Policy Analysis
  • 44.0504International Policy Analysis
  • 45.0901International Relations and Affairs
  • 45.0902National Security Policy Studies
  • 45.0999International Relations and National Security Studies, Other
  • 45.1001Political Science and Government, General
  • 45.1002American Government and Politics (United States)
  • 45.1004Political Economy
  • 45.1099Political Science and Government, Other

Common questions

Answers for people weighing political science teachers, postsecondary programs in Mississippi.

What degree do you need to become a Political Science Teacher, Postsecondary?+

Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Political Science and Government, General, which awarded 229 degrees in Mississippi in 2024-25, 69.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Political Science Teacher, Postsecondary?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Political Science and Government, Public Policy Analysis, International Relations and National Security Studies. Together they graduate about 328 people a year in Mississippi.

How much do political science teachers, postsecondary earn in Mississippi?+

The median is $59,270 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 39.6% below the U.S. median of $98,070. 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 political science teachers, postsecondary growing?+

BLS projects a +2.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

12 institutions in Mississippi reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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 political science teachers, postsecondary work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Associate Professor, Political Science Professor, Political Science Instructor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1065.

Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary in other statesCaliforniaNew YorkDistrict of ColumbiaTexasFloridaVirginiaMassachusettsMaryland

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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