There is a Future for the Social Sciences

The social sciences, especially Sociology, have been caught up in the culture wars. Last month, the State University System of Florida Board of Governors removed Introductory Sociology from the list of courses that can count toward general-education requirements, relegating the course to an elective. The probable result will be fewer Sociology majors and fewer graduates entering helping professions in Florida.

Last week, my colleague, Dr. Heather Farley, wrote a column in this space discussing if today’s college majors will still matter in the job market of the future. The perennial concern about whether college graduates will be able to get a job with their degree is exacerbated by fears associated with artificial intelligence replacing jobs. Dr. Farley concluded that colleges must develop curricula that promise “preparation to think critically, solve problems, communicate clearly, lead teams, make ethical decisions and adapt when tools and markets change.”

The social sciences provide the opportunity to develop many skills or career competencies that employers desire, including critical thinking, oral and written communication, analytical reasoning, professionalism, and interpersonal skills. Social science majors challenge students to develop research skills, data literacy, perspective-taking, creativity, ethics, and social responsibility. These soft skills are conducive to both engaged citizenship and gainful employment, even in the age of AI.

College students often struggle to articulate how their classes and cocurricular activities yield marketable skills. To address this gap in my own Introductory Sociology class, I incorporate an assignment each semester that tasks students to identify skills or career competencies that are acquired in our class and link these to specific class activities. Students are forced to articulate how they are honing skills that will used in their intended career. Everyone can benefit from taking a social science class, but professors can do more to explicitly define the value of our courses for students’ professional and personal growth.

Training in the social sciences prepares people for a wide variety of careers, including working with children and families, counseling, social services, and research. Working with people is an obvious application of one’s social science training, but many social science graduates have careers in health care, education, criminal justice, and business.

The “Undergraduate Degree Earners Report” from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center offers a window into college graduation trends nationally. Over the past decade, Psychology enrollment has increased, but enrollment has declined in other social science majors. From 2023-2024 to 2024-2025, enrollment in both Psychology and other social science disciplines increased.

There is strong enrollment in the social sciences at the College of Coastal Georgia. Psychology is the fourth largest major by enrollment with modest growth in recent years. The most popular minors at Coastal are Psychology (#1), Criminal Justice (#2), and Sociology (#3).

There is significant projected job growth in social science careers. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics projections, community and social service occupations are projected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations from 2024 to 2034. There is significant growth projected in a range of helping professions, including: social work; substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors; marriage and family therapists; and community health workers.

Artificial intelligence will impact a range of careers, including many helping professions. Generative AI may offer an individual helpful tips to deal with depression, but it is no substitute for a mental health professional. The future will reveal if any of our jobs are AI-proof. However, the skills developed in the social sciences hold promise to have enduring value in the job market of tomorrow. Also, there are expanding job opportunities in social science careers.

It appears that there is a bright future for the social sciences.

Roscoe Scarborough, Ph.D. is chair of the Department of Social Sciences and associate professor of sociology at College of Coastal Georgia. He is an associate scholar at the Reg Murphy Center for Economic and Policy Studies. He can be reached by email at rscarborough@ccga.edu.