Social Studies Education major
Social Studies Education: courses, careers, and where to study
Social Studies Education prepares future teachers to teach history, civics, geography, and economics in K-12 schools, pairing the social sciences with the pedagogy and licensure to teach them.
Social Studies Education, classified federally as Social Studies Teacher Education, prepares people to teach history, civics and government, geography, and economics in schools. Where a History or Political Science major centers on advanced study within one discipline, this field draws on several social sciences and aims them at the classroom: helping students understand how societies, governments, and economies work, weigh evidence and sources, and take part in civic life. It is also more subject-focused than a general Secondary Education major, pairing social-science content with methods courses on teaching social studies. Candidates build breadth across the social sciences, then learn to turn primary sources, maps, and current events into lessons that develop reasoning and citizenship.
Most social-studies-teaching positions are entered with a bachelor's degree that combines social-science coursework with an education sequence and a culminating student-teaching placement under a mentor teacher. Graduates teach social studies in middle and high schools, and some move into curriculum work, civic or museum education, or graduate study. Because public-school teaching is regulated, candidates should confirm the certification subjects, grade bands, and exams required where they intend to work before committing to a program.
In federal data for the closely related occupation of secondary school teachers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $64,580 and projects employment to decline about 1.6% from 2024 to 2034; a bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Social Studies Education maps to CIP 13.1318, Social Studies Teacher Education, within the EDUCATION family. The official definition:
A program that prepares individuals to teach general social studies programs at various educational levels.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Social Studies Education is awarded as
Of the 1,941 Social Studies Education credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Certificate<1%16
- Associate<1%8
- Bachelor's72%1,401
- Graduate27%516
CampusPin does not have enough states reporting this field to say whether the mix changes from state to state. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- United States and world history
- Civics, government, and the foundations of democracy
- Geography and human-environment systems
- Economics and personal and public finance
- Teaching with primary sources and evidence
- Source and media literacy
- Social studies methods and pedagogy
- Assessment and classroom management
- Supervised student-teaching practicum in schools
Typical careers
- Middle School Social Studies Teacher
- High School History or Government Teacher
- Civics or Geography Teacher
- Social Studies Curriculum Specialist
- Museum or Civic Educator
- Tutoring Instructor
Typical salary range: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 secondary school teachers median $64,580).Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Social Studies Education, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | $64,580 | 66,200 | -1.6% | Bachelor's degree |
| Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | $62,970 | 40,500 | -2% | Bachelor's degree |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 2 of these 2 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Social Studies Education does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Before you commit to a Social Studies Education major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Social Studies Education program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Social Studies Education department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Social Studies Education program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Social Studies Education credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- CUNY Queens CollegeNY · 55
- State University of New York at New PaltzNY · 43
- State University of New York at CortlandNY · 41
- University of GeorgiaGA · 41
- State University of New York at OswegoNY · 39
- Eastern Michigan UniversityMI · 37
- Rowan UniversityNJ · 37
- St. Joseph's University-New YorkNY · 37
- University of IowaIA · 37
- Stony Brook UniversityNY · 36
- Niagara UniversityNY · 35
- Ball State UniversityIN · 32
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Social Studies Education credentials were awarded
6 states have a distinct enough set of Social Studies Education colleges to be worth its own page.
Search Social Studies Education schools by state
- Social Studies Education in California
- Social Studies Education in Florida
- Social Studies Education in Georgia
- Social Studies Education in Illinois
- Social Studies Education in Maryland
- Social Studies Education in Massachusetts
- Social Studies Education in New York
- Social Studies Education in North Carolina
- Social Studies Education in Pennsylvania
- Social Studies Education in Texas
Related majors
History
History trains graduates in research, evidence, and argument, feeding into law, education, museums, government, and any field that values long-form analytical writing.
Political Science
Political Science studies governments, political behavior, and policy, preparing graduates for law school, public service, journalism, and policy research.
Secondary Education
Secondary Education prepares you to teach a subject to middle- and high-school students, blending content mastery with classroom instruction methods, and suits people who want to teach teens rather than young children.
Education
Education prepares graduates for state-licensed teaching careers in public and private K–12 schools, combining content-area study with pedagogy and supervised student-teaching.
Geography
Geography studies the spatial patterns of physical environments and human activity, suiting students who want to combine fieldwork, mapping, and data analysis to understand places.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Social Studies Education degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Education & Library careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Social Studies Education degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Social Studies Education path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.