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Social science manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a social science manager. Social science managers usually study psychology, business, or biology. 65% of social science managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 19% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 92 real social science manager resumes to see exactly what social science manager education sections show.

The most common colleges for social science managers are the California Coast University and the California Coast University.

There are also many online social science manager courses to help get the education required to be a social science manager.

What education do you need to become a social science manager?

What degree do you need to be a social science manager?

The most common degree for social science managers is bachelor's degree, with 65% of social science managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 19% and master's degree degree at 8%.
  • Bachelor's, 65%
  • Master's, 19%
  • Doctorate, 8%
  • Associate, 3%
  • Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become a social science manager?

You should major in psychology to become a social science manager. 10% of social science managers major in psychology. Other common majors for a social science manager include business and biology.

Most common colleges for social science managers

Social science managers often get their degrees at California Coast University, Stanford University, and Illinois State University. Here are the most common colleges for social science managers in the US based on their resumes.
Social science manager common collegePercentages
California Coast University7.41%
Stanford University7.41%
Illinois State University7.41%
University of Illinois at Chicago7.41%
San Francisco State University7.41%

Best majors for social science managers

RankMajorPercentages
1Psychology10.2%
2Business10.2%
3Biology8.5%
4Anthropology8.5%
5Chemistry8.5%

Best colleges for social science managers

The best colleges for social science managers are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Harvard University.

A social science manager with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for social science managers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become social science managers.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

4. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

5. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

6. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

7. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

8. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

9. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

10. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$10,610

Enrollment

40,329

20 best online courses for social science managers

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3. Computational Social Science Capstone Project

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6. Introduction to Clinical Data Science

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20. Data Science:Data Mining & Natural Language Processing in R

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Top 10 most affordable universities for social science managers

The most affordable schools for social science managers are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and baruch college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for social science managers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for social science managers.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

3. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

4. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

5. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

6. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

7. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

8. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

9. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

10. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for social science managers

The hardest universities for social science managers to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Harvard University.

Some great schools for social science managers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for social science managers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

5. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

6. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

7. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

8. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

9. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

10. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for social science managers

The easiest schools for social science managers to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, barry university, and university of the incarnate word.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a social science manager without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for social science managers.

1. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

2. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

3. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

4. University of North Texas at Dallas

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

992

5. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

6. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

7. University of Baltimore

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,020

8. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

9. California University of Pennsylvania

California, PA • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,007

10. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,054

Average social science manager salary by education level

According to our data, social science managers with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $123,545 annually. Social science managers with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $116,689.
Social science manager education levelSocial science manager salary
Master's Degree$116,689
High School Diploma or Less$80,974
Bachelor's Degree$103,676
Doctorate Degree$123,545
Some College/ Associate Degree$85,251

Social science manager education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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