New Jersey·Educational Instruction and Library Occupations·SOC 25-1065

Best Political Science Teacher, Postsecondary programs in New Jersey, ranked by enrollment

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

22 schools in New Jersey run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,155 people a year. The job pays a median of $100,260 in New Jersey across about 650 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledProfessorAssociate ProfessorPolitical Science ProfessorPolitical Science InstructorLecturerInstructorFaculty MemberAdjunct Professor
Graduates / yr
1,155
in New Jersey
Median pay · New Jersey
$100,260
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
650
people employed
Schools
22
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
63%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,094
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in New Jersey that lead to this job

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

4 programs in New Jersey that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in New Jersey (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 New Jersey page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1740
64.1%
22$35,631$23,538
2302
26.1%
6$44,740$22,000
3112
9.7%
6$37,878$21,750
41
0.1%
1

Top 22 schools in New Jersey

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 22 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Princeton University
Princeton, NJ Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
323Public Policy Analysis, General$73,63098%$13,7295%
2Rutgers University - New Brunswick
New Brunswick, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs
284Political Science and Government, General$39,72384%58%
3Seton Hall University
South Orange, NJ Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
139International Relations and Affairs$45,44069%$27,37673%
4Montclair State University
Montclair, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs
65Political Science and Government, General$26,70465%88%
5Rutgers University - Newark
Newark, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs
54Political Science and Government, General$39,72364%71%
6The College of New Jersey
Ewing, NJ Public · 3 feeder programs
50Political Science and Government, General$40,22986%62%
7Rutgers University - Camden
Camden, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs
47Political Science and Government, General$39,72367%66%
8Rowan University
Glassboro, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs
39Political Science and Government, General$26,04267%78%
9Stockton University
Galloway, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
34Political Science and Government, General$30,89169%89%
10Monmouth University
West Long Branch, NJ Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
32Political Science and Government, General$30,36672%$28,51489%
11Drew University
Madison, NJ Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
20International Relations and Affairs70%$23,09468%
12Kean University
Union, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
17Political Science and Government, General$30,43647%76%
13Rider University
Lawrenceville, NJ Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
10Political Science and Government, General61%$23,84479%
14Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus
Teaneck, NJ Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
9Political Science and Government, General53%$18,05991%
15New Jersey City University
Jersey City, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
8Political Science and Government, General34%98%
16William Paterson University of New Jersey
Wayne, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
6Political Science and Government, General$37,80144%90%
17Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Campus
Madison, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Political Science and Government, General67%$23,57395%
18Ramapo College of New Jersey
Mahwah, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
5Political Science and Government, General$36,05070%71%
19Saint Peter's University
Jersey City, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Political Science and Government, General58%$14,44090%
20Caldwell University
Caldwell, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Political Science and Government, General57%$21,90271%
21Salem Community College
Carneys Point, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
2Political Science and Government, General40%
22Georgian Court University
Lakewood, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Political Science and Government, General54%$19,50479%

All 22 schools in New Jersey

Every school in New Jersey 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 New Jersey that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Princeton UniversityPrincetonPrivate not-for-profit3232
Rutgers University - New BrunswickNew BrunswickPublic2842
Seton Hall UniversitySouth OrangePrivate not-for-profit1392
Montclair State UniversityMontclairPublic652
Rutgers University - NewarkNewarkPublic542
The College of New JerseyEwingPublic503
Rutgers University - CamdenCamdenPublic472
Rowan UniversityGlassboroPublic392
Stockton UniversityGallowayPublic341
Monmouth UniversityWest Long BranchPrivate not-for-profit322
Drew UniversityMadisonPrivate not-for-profit202
Kean UniversityUnionPublic171
Rider UniversityLawrencevillePrivate not-for-profit102
Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan CampusTeaneckPrivate not-for-profit92
New Jersey City UniversityJersey CityPublic81

What political science teachers, postsecondary earn in New Jersey

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

Median annual in New Jersey
$100,260
Mean annual
$101,590
Jobs in state
650
What the range looks like
10th pct$32,220Median$100,26090th pct$171,420
Versus the national median
+2.2%

U.S. median $98,070. New Jersey pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
1.39×

Concentrated here: New Jersey employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in New Jersey

Trenton-Princeton, NJ
$101,470median

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 New Jersey

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 New Jersey.

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 740 degrees in New Jersey in 2024-25, 64.1% 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, History and Political Science. Together they graduate about 1,155 people a year in New Jersey.

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

The median is $100,260 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 2.2% above 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 New Jersey?+

22 institutions in New Jersey 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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