What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Sociology
Sociology is tracked across 239 U.S. postsecondary institutions in the College Scorecard field-of-study file, which links CIP code classifications from IPEDS to Treasury earnings records. This profile covers the master's credential level specifically, because the Department of Education reports program-level outcomes separately for associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral awards. The CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) taxonomy lets analysts roll up specialties into broader families, which is why earnings medians across schools can be compared on a common basis.
Across all reporting institutions, the mean of school-level medians is $49,264, calculated from 20 schools with published earnings data. The earnings distribution stretches from $27,750 at the low end to $93,752 at the top, with a 25th-75th percentile band between $37,208 and $65,008 around a median of $45,696. The top-reporting institution in this program is Teachers College at Columbia University at $93,752. These numbers reflect earnings measured roughly a year after completion, using Social Security Administration tax records linked to federal financial aid applicants.
Variation across schools matters more than a single national figure. Completers counts reported per school indicate how many graduates’ earnings feed the median, which means small programs produce more volatile numbers. Median debt at the program level, when paired with earnings, yields a debt-to-earnings ratio that is the College Scorecard’s standard affordability signal — ratios under 1.0 indicate earnings exceed cumulative debt. Use the school-by-school table to spot institutions where Sociology graduates out-earn peers at comparable cost, and to surface gainful-employment patterns that only become visible at the CIP-code level.
Arizona State University Digital Immersion accounts for 23.2% of all Sociology master's credential graduates
That concentration — well above the 5% national median for largest-entity share — means Sociology-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. That school produced 73 graduates in the most recent cohort, anchoring a meaningful slice of national supply for this field. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Sociology master's credential median earnings varies 3.4× across entities
Sociology master's credential median earnings ranges from $27,750 (lowest) to $93,752 (highest), a spread of $66,002. That spread reflects typical sectoral variation between selective research institutions and broader access institutions. Earnings are measured roughly one year after completion using IRS records linked to federal aid recipients (see https://www.irs.gov/) — not all completers are captured, but the school-level medians correlate strongly with longer-term earnings trajectories.
Sociology debt-to-earnings ratio is 0.57 — near the typical range (US average ~1) — aligned with the typical 1:1 ratio that defines federal gainful-employment thresholds
debt-to-earnings ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: this ratio uses federal loan principal, not all education debt — private loans, parent PLUS loans not in the borrower’s name, and institutional debt are excluded Variation between sub-units within Sociology is typically wider than the Sociology-aggregate figure suggests.
Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field of Study file. Median earnings represent graduates who received federal financial aid, drawn from U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal student aid applicants. Completers count and debt figures reflect program-level data reported through IPEDS. Data is updated annually.