undergradly.
Major · Social Sciences

Two disciplines on one diploma — a small, liberal-arts-heavy combined major

Sociology and Anthropology is a combined CIP — students study social structures, culture, and human behavior across both disciplines rather than specializing in one. About 425 degrees are awarded annually at 59 colleges, mostly small liberal-arts colleges and regional comprehensives, making it a niche choice compared with the named Sociology (26,513/yr) and Anthropology (7,889/yr) majors.

Schools offering
59
Annual completions
425
Typical degree level
Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$48k

About this major

Sociology and Anthropology, listed under CIP code 45.1301, is a combined-discipline major that bundles two of the social sciences into a single program. The CIP definition frames it as the study of how society is organized, the origins and development of social institutions, social change, race, class, gender, and culture. In practice, students take parallel coursework in sociological theory and methods (statistics, survey research, social stratification) and anthropological core (ethnographic methods, cultural anthropology, sometimes biological anthropology and archaeology), with a capstone or thesis project in most programs.

The major is small by national standards: about 425 bachelor's degrees are awarded annually across 59 colleges, compared with roughly 26,513 in standalone Sociology (45.1101) and 7,889 in standalone Anthropology (45.0201). The institutional pattern is distinctive — top producers are small private liberal-arts colleges (Lewis & Clark, Puget Sound, Lake Forest, St. Olaf, Centre) and regional comprehensives where one academic department covers both fields. Research universities typically offer the two majors separately. The combined CIP exists because, at smaller institutions, the faculty and curriculum naturally span both disciplines and the combined degree better describes what students are actually learning.

On the career side, the data show a graduate-school-gated structure. Five-year median earnings for bachelor's completers run about $48,199 — well below the overall bachelor's median. Four of the five tracked careers require a master's or doctorate: Sociologists ($101,690, master's), Anthropologists and Archeologists ($64,910, master's), Sociology teachers postsecondary ($82,540, doctoral), and Anthropology and archeology teachers postsecondary ($95,770, doctoral). The only bachelor's-typical entry in the tracked set is 'Managers, all other' ($136,550), a residual SOC code that doesn't represent a targeted destination so much as a catch-all bucket where many liberal-arts graduates land.

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
Sociology teachers, postsecondary $83k +2.1% Doctoral or professional degree
Anthropologists and archeologists $65k +3.7% Master's degree
Anthropology and archeology teachers, postsecondary $96k +2.7% Doctoral or professional degree
Sociologists $102k +3.6% Master's 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

$48k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you're drawn to broad social-science questions across both disciplines — how societies organize themselves, how culture shapes behavior, how race, class, gender, and institutions interact — and you'd rather get exposure to both sociological and anthropological frames than specialize in one early. The major also fits well if you're considering graduate school in applied research (UX research, market research, public health, urban planning) or pre-law: the analytical writing, qualitative methods, and quantitative reasoning trained here transfer cleanly into a master's or JD program. If you're at a small liberal-arts college where this is the only social-research option, it's a sound choice.

Think twice if you already know you want to specialize in archaeology, medical anthropology, criminology, or quantitative social research — at a research university, the standalone Sociology (45.1101) or Anthropology (45.0201) majors will give you sharper preparation and more direct graduate-school pipelines. Think twice also if you need a degree that pays off without graduate school: the bachelor's-only earnings picture is honest at $48,199 five-year median, and the high-wage tracked careers — sociologist, anthropologist, postsecondary teaching — all require master's or doctoral credentials. Bachelor's-only landings cluster in the $40,000-$55,000 range (case manager, research assistant, program coordinator, junior market researcher), and breaking past $70,000 typically requires either an applied master's, a stacked quantitative skill set (Python, R, SQL), or a pivot into management or tech UX research.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Sociology and Anthropology

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

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY 0 55 55
Lewis & Clark College Portland, OR 0 33 33
University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA 0 22 22
Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL 0 20 20
Valdosta State University Valdosta, GA 0 20 20
University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA 0 19 19
St Olaf College Northfield, MN 0 18 18
Pace University New York, NY 0 16 16
Centre College Danville, KY 0 15 15
Southern Oregon University Ashland, OR 0 15 15
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Sociology, General

26,513 completions/yr

Criminology

8,556 completions/yr

Anthropology, General

7,889 completions/yr

Urban Studies/Affairs

806 completions/yr

Medical/Health Humanities

255 completions/yr

Archeology

206 completions/yr

Medical Anthropology

184 completions/yr

Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods

143 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What's the difference between this major and the named Sociology or Anthropology degrees?
The combined CIP (45.1301) bundles both disciplines into one program, while standalone Sociology (45.1101, ~26,513 completions/yr) and Anthropology (45.0201, ~7,889 completions/yr) are much larger named majors offered at most universities. The combined version is most common at small liberal-arts colleges and regional comprehensives where one department teaches both fields. You get broader exposure but less depth in either discipline — useful if you're undecided between the two, weaker if you already know you want to focus on, say, archaeology or medical sociology and aim for graduate school in that specialty.
What do Sociology and Anthropology majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework typically splits between sociological theory and methods (Marx, Durkheim, Weber, statistics, survey design) and anthropological core (cultural, biological, and sometimes archaeological methods, ethnographic fieldwork, kinship and culture systems). Students read primary research, write analytical papers, and in many programs conduct original ethnographic fieldwork or original survey research. Upper-division work moves into applied subfields — medical anthropology, urban sociology, race and ethnicity, environmental sociology, or ethnographic research methods. The work is heavily reading- and writing-intensive, and most programs require both a research methods course and a capstone or thesis.
What jobs are realistic with just a bachelor's in this major?
Be honest about the data: of the five tracked careers, only 'Managers, all other' ($136,550 median) lists a bachelor's as the typical entry credential — and that's a residual catch-all SOC code, not a targeted destination. Sociologists ($101,690) and Anthropologists & Archeologists ($64,910) both require a master's; postsecondary teaching in either discipline requires a doctorate. Realistic bachelor's-only landings are case manager, social-research assistant, community-program coordinator, HR generalist, market-research junior analyst, or museum education roles — typically $40,000-$55,000 to start. Mid-career without graduate school tops out around $50,000-$70,000 unless you stack quantitative skills (Python, R, SQL) or a specialized certification.
Do I need a graduate degree to use this major?
For the named occupations linked to either discipline, yes — four of the five tracked careers require a master's or doctorate. The most common applied-research master's tracks are MPA, MPH, MSW, MA in Applied Anthropology, MURP (urban planning), and master's programs in UX research or human-centered design at schools like Indiana, CMU HCII, U Washington, and NYU. Pre-law is also a strong fit: sociology majors historically score well on the LSAT, and the analytical writing trained in this major transfers cleanly into JD coursework. Treat the bachelor's as a launching pad: targeted internships, research experience, and a clear graduate plan are what convert this degree into a competitive career.
Where does this major actually pay off — what are the strongest pivot lanes?
Three pivots reliably move earnings: (1) UX research and ethnographic research at tech firms — Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Spotify, Airbnb — where master's-trained ethnographers earn $120,000-$200,000; (2) public-health research and program management via an MPH, working at CDC, state health departments, or foundations like Gates and RWJF; (3) policy-research roles at Brookings, RAND, Mathematica, Urban Institute, or Pew, typically requiring a master's and quantitative skills. Cultural-resource management archaeology firms (SWCA, ICF, AECOM) hire bachelor's-level field technicians at lower wages but provide a path into the anthropologist/archeologist occupation with a master's. Foreign Service, intelligence-community analyst roles, and international-development organizations like USAID also value regional and cultural expertise.
What's a realistic earnings picture after this degree?
Five-year median earnings for bachelor's completers are about $48,199 — below the overall bachelor's median and well below STEM fields. Of the tracked careers, only sociologist ($101,690) and the catch-all 'managers, all other' ($136,550) clear $100,000, and the sociologist role requires a master's. Anthropologists and archeologists ($64,910) require a master's; both teaching pathways require a doctorate. Many graduates who earn above the five-year median have pursued graduate credentials, layered on quantitative or UX-research skills, or moved into management roles that aren't sociology- or anthropology-specific. Treat the $48,199 figure as the floor for bachelor's-only paths, not the ceiling for the field.
Where is this combined major actually offered?
Top producers include College of Staten Island CUNY (55 completions), Lewis & Clark College (33), University of Puget Sound (22), Lake Forest College (20), Valdosta State (20), UMass-Dartmouth (19), St. Olaf College (18), Pace University (16), Centre College (15), and Southern Oregon University (15). The pattern is clear: small private liberal-arts colleges and regional comprehensives where the two disciplines share a department. If you want a research university with separate, specialized departments and a clear graduate-school feeder track, you'll typically need to pick between standalone Sociology (45.1101) and standalone Anthropology (45.0201) — the combined CIP is largely a small-college program.