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

Best Social Scientist programs in North Dakota, ranked by enrollment

All social scientists and related workers not listed.

4 schools in North Dakota run programs that feed this job, graduating 38 people a year. The job pays a median of $76,400 in North Dakota across about 120 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledPlannerProgram OfficerTransportation PlannerTransportation Data Programs ManagerLinguistDemographerEthnologistEtymologist
Graduates / yr
38
in North Dakota
Median pay · North Dakota
$76,400
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
120
people employed
Schools
4
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
54%
across those schools
Median net price
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in North Dakota that lead to this job

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

5 programs in North Dakota that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in North Dakota (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 North Dakota page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
121
55.3%
3$35,590$24,095
210
26.3%
1$33,086$26,000
35
13.2%
1$33,086$26,000
41
2.6%
1$25,750$18,622
51
2.6%
1$33,086$26,000

Top 4 schools in North Dakota

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 4 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 North Dakota
Grand Forks, ND Public · 4 feeder programs
26Social Sciences, General$34,49060%77%
2Mayville State University
Mayville, ND Public · 1 feeder programs
5Social Sciences, General41%
3North Dakota State University - Main Campus
Fargo, ND Public · 1 feeder programs
5Educational Evaluation and Research64%95%
4Dickinson State University
Dickinson, ND Public · 1 feeder programs
2Social Sciences, General51%37%

All 4 schools in North Dakota

Every school in North Dakota 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 North Dakota that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of North DakotaGrand ForksPublic264
Mayville State UniversityMayvillePublic51
North Dakota State University - Main CampusFargoPublic51
Dickinson State UniversityDickinsonPublic21

What social scientists and related workers, all other earn in North Dakota

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

Median annual in North Dakota
$76,400
Mean annual
$74,020
Jobs in state
120
What the range looks like
10th pct$42,630Median$76,40090th pct$103,380
Versus the national median
-24.4%

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

Job concentration
1.20×

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

Metro areas in North Dakota

Fargo, ND-MN
$64,110median
50 jobs
Grand Forks, ND-MN
$78,850median
30 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 North Dakota

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 North Dakota.

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 Social Sciences, General, which awarded 21 degrees in North Dakota in 2024-25, 55.3% 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 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Social Sciences, Educational Assessment, Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies. Together they graduate about 38 people a year in North Dakota.

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

The median is $76,400 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 24.4% 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 North Dakota?+

4 institutions in North Dakota reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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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