undergradly.
Major · Psychology

A pre-PhD ramp into the science of social behavior

Social Psychology (CIP 42.2707) studies how individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior are shaped by groups, attitudes, persuasion, conformity, and prejudice. About 303 students complete the major across just 15 colleges, and bachelor’s graduates earn a five-year median of $58,998 — a figure anchored to a research-PhD-skewed career ladder.

Schools offering
15
Annual completions
303
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$59k

About this major

Social Psychology (CIP 42.2707) is the scientific study of how individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior are shaped by other people. Coursework combines a psychology backbone — statistics, research methods, and the broader psychology survey — with seminar modules on social cognition, attribution, attitude formation, persuasion, conformity, prejudice, altruism, and group dynamics. Hands-on work shows up as survey and experimental-vignette design and behavioral-data analysis. The framing is empirical: you’re learning to test claims about social influence, not to practice therapy or run an HR department.

The major rewards students who like the science-of-people angle and want to apply quantitative measurement to questions about how groups behave. Comfort with statistics and careful research design carries more weight here than in a general psychology BA. Students drawn to clinical practice will find the program pointed elsewhere; those drawn to broader social structures often fit better in Sociology (CIP 45.1101); those drawn to workplace applications usually find Industrial-Organizational Psychology (CIP 42.2804) a closer match.

Program scale is small and unusually concentrated. About 303 students complete this CIP annually across 15 colleges, with bachelor’s graduates earning a five-year median of $58,998 and associate’s graduates earning $49,186. The named labor-market destinations — psychologists, all other ($117,580, master’s typical), psychology teachers, postsecondary ($80,330, doctorate typical), and the catch-all managers category at $136,550 — sit above the bachelor’s figure because most are gated behind graduate credentials. Park University leads completions with 126 graduates, and the rest of the top ten runs from Penn State Abington (44) down to Augsburg University (3); most universities roll their social-psych concentrators into Psychology, General (133,179 completions) rather than reporting them under 42.2707.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Managers, all other $137k +4.5% Bachelor's degree
Psychologists, all other $118k +4.3% Master's degree
Psychology teachers, postsecondary $80k +3.6% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$59k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$49k

Bachelor's

$59k

Who this major is for

Strong fits include students drawn to the science of social influence — attitudes, persuasion, conformity, prejudice, group dynamics — and willing to treat statistics and research methods as core tools rather than electives; learners planning a PhD in social psychology who want undergraduate research at the center of the degree; applicants comfortable with the small-pie reality (303 completions, 15 colleges) and aware that most universities classify these students under Psychology, General (133,179 completions) instead; and students attracted to bachelor’s-direct destinations like research coordinator at a university lab, behavioral-research analyst at Gallup, Pew, or Nielsen, consumer-insights at Ipsos or Kantar, or nonprofit program evaluation.

Reconsider this route if the goal is to practice therapy — Clinical Psychology (CIP 42.2801) followed by a PsyD or PhD is the more direct path. Pause if statistics and research methods feel like obstacles rather than tools, since both sit at the core of every graduate program in the field. Reconsider if a master’s-only outcome is the plan: social psychology is research-PhD-skewed, with UX research, behavioral economics at CMU Heinz or LSE, and policy programs the more credible master’s pivots. Park University produces 126 of the 303 national completions and most other programs report under 50 graduates, so faculty depth and PhD placement networks vary sharply between institutions.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Social Psychology

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Park University Parkville, MO 16 110 126
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington Abington, PA 0 44 44
University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA 0 39 39
Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO 0 32 32
Tiffin University Tiffin, OH 0 14 14
Ozarks Technical Community College Springfield, MO 14 0 14
Pennsylvania Western University California, PA 0 12 12
University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA 0 11 11
Maryville University of Saint Louis Saint Louis, MO 0 5 5
Augsburg University Minneapolis, MN 0 3 3
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Psychology, General

133,179 completions/yr

Research and Experimental Psychology, Other

11,877 completions/yr

Criminology

8,556 completions/yr

Experimental Psychology

3,493 completions/yr

Behavioral Sciences

2,603 completions/yr

Applied Psychology

1,583 completions/yr

Behavioral Neuroscience

1,302 completions/yr

Forensic Psychology

877 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Social Psychology majors actually study day-to-day?
The CIP definition centers on the scientific study of individual behavior in group contexts and the phenomena that arise from it — social cognition, attribution, attitude formation, persuasion, conformity, prejudice, altruism, and group dynamics. Coursework typically combines a psychology backbone (statistics, research methods, social and cognitive psychology) with seminar-style modules on attitudes and persuasion, intergroup relations, the self, and applied topics like criminal behavior or social development. Hands-on work shows up as survey design, experimental-vignette studies, and increasingly some exposure to behavioral-data analysis. The framing is empirical: you’re learning to test claims about social influence, not to provide therapy or counseling.
Will a bachelor’s in Social Psychology get someone a social psychologist job?
No. The careers data captures this directly: psychologists, all other (SOC 19-3039) at $117,580 lists a master’s as typical entry education, and psychology teachers, postsecondary (SOC 25-1066) at $80,330 lists a doctoral or professional degree. Most titled social psychologists in research, faculty, or assessment roles hold a PhD earned over five to seven years on a stipend track. The bachelor’s-direct destinations the data implies are research-coordinator and lab-manager work, behavioral-research analyst roles at survey firms, market and consumer-insights jobs, and program-evaluation positions — closer to the $58,998 five-year earnings figure for this major than to the listed psychologist or professor wages.
What jobs are realistic with just the bachelor’s?
Realistic bachelor’s destinations cluster around research-coordinator and lab-manager positions at university psychology and behavioral-science labs (often $45,000–$55,000 starting), behavioral-research analyst roles at survey and polling firms like Gallup, Pew, and Nielsen, market-research and consumer-insights work at brand-research shops like Ipsos, Kantar, and Mintel, UX research support at tech firms (with a portfolio supplement), and program-evaluator roles at nonprofits and policy organizations. The catch-all manager category (SOC 11-9199, $136,550) is a generic Bureau of Labor Statistics bucket and should not be read as a typical first job. Master’s-only positions are unusual in social psychology specifically, since the field is research-PhD-skewed.
How does Social Psychology compare to Psychology, General or Sociology?
Psychology, General (CIP 42.0101) awards 133,179 degrees a year and is the dominant, most portable credential in the family — broader coverage, easier graduate-school access for any psychology specialty, and far more alumni networks. Sociology (CIP 45.1101) studies social structures, institutions, and population-level patterns rather than individual cognition inside groups, so the methods lean more on demography and qualitative work. Cognitive Psychology (CIP 42.2701) is closer in DNA but focuses on perception, memory, and reasoning rather than social influence; Industrial-Organizational Psychology (CIP 42.2804) applies similar methods to workplaces; and Clinical Psychology (CIP 42.2801) is the therapy-and-assessment route. Social Psychology, with just 303 annual completions, is a small, research-flavored variant — and most universities roll these students into the Psychology, General code rather than reporting them under 42.2707.
Is graduate school basically required after this major?
For the academic and titled-psychologist track, yes — a PhD in social psychology (typically five to seven years on a stipend at programs like Princeton, Stanford, Michigan, Yale, NYU, and Ohio State) is the formal entry credential for faculty research, federal and policy research-scientist roles, and most consumer-insights research-team leadership. Master’s-only social psychology programs are uncommon, but related master’s pivots are well-trod: UX research at Bentley HFID or Michigan UMSI HCI, behavioral economics at CMU Heinz, LBS, or LSE, and science communication or public-policy programs that absorb behavioral training. Without graduate school, the bachelor’s tracks toward the research-coordinator, behavioral-analyst, and brand-research roles already discussed, where industry experience and quantitative skills (R, Python, SPSS, survey methodology) substitute for the credential ladder.
Where do most students get this degree, and does it matter where I study?
Annual completions are highly concentrated and the small absolute scale matters. Park University in Missouri leads with 126 graduates a year (110 bachelor’s, 16 associate’s) and the next nine programs are tiny — Penn State Abington (44), UC San Diego (39), Northwest Missouri State (32), Tiffin (14), Ozarks Technical Community College (14 associate’s), Pennsylvania Western (12), UMass Boston (11), Maryville Saint Louis (5), and Augsburg (3). The 303 national figure is a CIP-coding artifact more than a measure of student interest; most universities roll social-psychology concentrators into the Psychology, General code (133,179 completions) rather than reporting them under 42.2707. For students aiming at a PhD, the institution and faculty matter more than the specific CIP label — research-active social-psych faculty, undergraduate co-authorship opportunities, and statistics depth weigh more in admissions than the program name.