# Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary

US SOC code 25-1065. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/25-1065

Also called: Political science professor, PoliSci professor, Political science postsec teacher, Political science faculty, Political science lecturer.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **16,970** US postsecondary political science teachers, with median pay of **$98,070** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **17,660**, in May 2013, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://apsanet.org/about/about-apsa/) of **300** from 1903, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for postsecondary political science teachers: Text-as-data methods, 2010 to 2020.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 2.5% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-1065&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **41.5%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1857
- Latest US employment: 16,970 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $98,070 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Outlook: +2.5% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [22]

### All 30 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1903 | 300 (estimate) | n/a | Est., American Political Science Association [1] |
| 1940 | 2,800 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2019 [2] |
| 1960 | 5,500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2019 [2] |
| 1970 | n/a | $12,500 (estimate) | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics [4] |
| 1975 | 14,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2019 [2] |
| 1990 | n/a | $38,000 (estimate) | Est., AHA Perspectives [5] |
| 2000 | 15,800 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2019 [2] |
| 2003 | 12,320 | $57,340 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [3] |
| 2004 | 13,230 | $58,980 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [3] |
| 2005 | 13,710 | $59,850 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [3] |
| 2006 | 13,850 | $61,820 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [3] |
| 2007 | 14,160 | $63,100 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [3] |
| 2008 | 14,340 | $67,200 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [3] |
| 2009 | 15,180 | $68,790 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [3] |
| 2010 | 15,930 | $70,540 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [3] |
| 2011 | 17,260 | $71,470 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [3] |
| 2012 | 16,770 | $72,170 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 17,660 | $73,760 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | 17,050 | $73,790 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [3] |
| 2015 | 17,460 | $76,370 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 16,720 | $79,210 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 16,200 | $81,430 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 15,890 | $83,370 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 15,750 | $85,930 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [3] |
| 2020 | 15,130 | $85,760 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 14,060 | $81,980 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 15,190 | $83,770 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 17,090 | $93,810 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 17,170 | $94,680 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 16,970 | $98,070 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (86)

### Employment series

1. [American Political Science Association -- "About APSA": founding 1903, Tulane University; initial membership and early discipline scale](https://apsanet.org/about/about-apsa/), American Political Science Association
2. [NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2019 -- Table 301.20: Historical summary of faculty, enrollment, degrees, and finances in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, selected years 1869-70 through 2017-18](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_301.20.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. [NCES Digest of Education Statistics -- Table 316.10: Average salary of full-time instructional faculty on 9-month contracts, selected years 1970-71 through 2018-19; AAUP 1990 faculty salary update context](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_316.10.asp), National Center for Education Statistics / AAUP
5. [AHA Perspectives: "1990 Faculty Salary Update" -- social science faculty salaries at public institutions circa 1989-90; AAUP analysis of real-wage recovery timeline](https://www.historians.org/perspectives-article/1990-faculty-salary-update/), American Historical Association / AAUP
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
7. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

8. [American Political Science Association -- "About APSA": founding December 30, 1903; APSR first issue 1906; Columbia School of Political Science (Burgess, 1880) as the institutional origin](https://apsanet.org/about/about-apsa/), American Political Science Association
9. [Wikipedia -- John Burgess (political scientist): Columbia School of Political Science 1880, German seminar model, first US PhD in political science](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Burgess_%28political_scientist%29), Wikipedia
10. [Wikipedia -- Institute for Social Research (University of Michigan): Survey Research Center founded 1946 by Rensis Likert; first 1948 pre-election survey; behavioral revolution in political science](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Social_Research_%28University_of_Michigan%29), Wikipedia
11. [Wikipedia -- SPSS: first release 1968; foundational statistical tool for quantitative political science research and teaching](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPSS), Wikipedia
12. [Encyclopedia.com -- "Xerox Introduces the First Photocopier": Xerox 914, introduced 1960, first machine to copy on ordinary paper; transformed academic document reproduction](https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/xerox-introduces-first-photocopier), Encyclopedia.com
13. [EBSCO Research Starters -- "Photocopying invented": Xerox 914 as watershed; earlier options (mimeograph, carbon copies, Verifax) compared; cost of $0.03/page vs. $0.25 for photostats](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/library-and-information-science/photocopying-invented), EBSCO Research Starters
14. [Wikipedia -- Stata: first release 1985 by StataCorp; foundational econometric and social-science statistical package; widely adopted in political science by the early 1990s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stata), Wikipedia
15. [Wikipedia -- Apple Macintosh: introduced January 24, 1984; first commercially successful personal computer with graphical user interface; transformed academic computing and writing by mid-1980s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh), Wikipedia
16. [Wikipedia -- JSTOR: launched 1995; digital archive of academic journals including APSR and AJPS; transformed access to political science literature at the desktop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSTOR), Wikipedia
17. [Wikipedia -- Blackboard Inc.: founded 1997; course management system widely adopted at US universities 1999-2005; digitized syllabus, assignment submission, grade books](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackboard_Inc.), Wikipedia
18. [Political Science Research and Methods (Cambridge, 2024) -- "How to Train Your Stochastic Parrot: Large Language Models for Political Texts": text-as-data methods genealogy; BERT, RoBERTa, PolitBERT; open-weight models for reproducibility](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/political-science-research-and-methods/article/how-to-train-your-stochastic-parrot-large-language-models-for-political-texts/8EAA8096779B5C9DDBDF1BFC71C63AEC), Cambridge University Press / Political Science Research and Methods
19. [Wikipedia -- R (programming language): widely adopted in political science research and teaching by the mid-2010s for statistical analysis, text-as-data, and data visualization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_%28programming_language%29), Wikipedia
20. [APSA Presidential Task Force on AI -- "Artificial Intelligence, Politics, and Political Science" (Tucker, Persily et al., 2026): 61% of political science faculty experimenting with AI by spring 2025; policy briefs in top-10 AI-generated submission types; open-weight model reproducibility guidance](https://preprints.apsanet.org/engage/apsa/article-details/69f90d62d1922e37d5138db2), American Political Science Association
21. [Tornberg (Social Science Computer Review, 2025) -- "Large Language Models Outperform Expert Coders and Supervised Classifiers at Annotating Political Social Media Messages": LLMs now outperform human coders on political text annotation, directly displacing RA-level work](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08944393241286471), SAGE / Social Science Computer Review

### Forecasts and exposure studies

22. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 25-1065 Political science teachers, postsecondary (2025: 21.5 thousand; 2035: 22.0 thousand; +2.5%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-1065&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
23. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 25-1065.00, human-rated β 0.415)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

24. [Wikipedia -- John Burgess (political scientist): Columbia School of Political Science 1880; German university model; "father of American political science"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Burgess_%28political_scientist%29), Wikipedia
25. [Tulane Liberal Arts -- "The American Political Science Association Founded at Tulane": founding December 30, 1903; APSA history and context](https://liberalarts.tulane.edu/news-events/publications/newsletter-archive/apsa-nov-2016), Tulane University School of Liberal Arts
26. [Chronicle of Higher Education -- "How the GI Bill Changed Higher Education": 2.3 million veterans sent to college; postsecondary enrollment roughly doubles by early 1950s](https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-the-gi-bill-changed-higher-education/), Chronicle of Higher Education
27. [Wikipedia -- Institute for Social Research (University of Michigan): Survey Research Center founded 1946; first National Election Study (NES) 1948; Angus Campbell and the behavioral revolution in American politics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Social_Research_%28University_of_Michigan%29), Wikipedia
28. [Wikipedia -- SPSS: first release 1968; developed at Stanford; standard quantitative tool in political science and social sciences for two decades](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPSS), Wikipedia
29. [American Political Science Association -- Data on the Profession: APSA Departmental Survey as "longest-running survey in the profession"; political science curriculum, enrollment, and faculty employment](https://apsanet.org/resources/data-on-the-profession/), American Political Science Association
30. [Inside Higher Ed -- "Study identifies challenges on political science faculty job market" (2016): tenure-track positions declined from 730 (2006-07 peak) to 445 (2009-10); structural tenure-track contraction post-2008](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/04/study-identifies-challenges-political-science-faculty-job-market), Inside Higher Ed
31. [APSA Presidential Task Force on AI (Tucker, Persily et al., 2026) -- "Artificial Intelligence, Politics, and Political Science": AI literacy as disciplinary competency; open-weight model reproducibility guidance; AI governance as core political science teaching topic](https://preprints.apsanet.org/engage/apsa/article-details/69f90d62d1922e37d5138db2), American Political Science Association

### Predecessors & successors

32. [Wikipedia -- John Burgess (political scientist): Columbia School of Political Science 1880 as origin of distinct political science faculty role, split from History and Political Economy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Burgess_%28political_scientist%29), Wikipedia
33. [APSA -- "Expect the Unexpected: Choices and Challenges in the Political Science PhD Job": academic and non-academic career pathways from political science doctoral programs](https://apsanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GS1-Chapter-34.pdf), American Political Science Association
34. [APSA -- "Adapting to the Changing Academic Job Market" (Political Science Today, Cambridge): non-academic placement trends for political science PhDs including think tanks and government](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/political-science-today/article/adapting-to-the-changing-academic-job-market/FE359B781CD90F085D99DEFC2A8980F9), Cambridge University Press / Political Science Today

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1065.00): tasks, work activities, technology skills, knowledge domains, employment data](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-1065.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [APSA Presidential Task Force on AI — "Artificial Intelligence, Politics, and Political Science" (Tucker, Persily et al., 2026): AI effects on democracy, research, and political science education; open-weight model reproducibility guidance](https://preprints.apsanet.org/engage/apsa/article-details/69f90d62d1922e37d5138db2), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science 384:1306-1308): LLM labor exposure framework; political science teachers shallow seed cri: 55](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Postsecondary Teachers: +7% projected growth 2024-2034; median annual wage ~$84,310 for political science teachers (BLS OES May 2024)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/postsecondary-teachers.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Tornberg (Social Science Computer Review, 2025) — "LLMs Outperform Expert Coders and Supervised Classifiers at Annotating Political Social Media Messages": LLMs now outperform human coders on political text annotation tasks](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08944393241286471), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Lee et al. (PS: Political Science & Politics, Cambridge Core, 2024) — GPT-4: 94% character accuracy on OCR of archival materials; \<5% error on source extraction from news articles; performs RA-level biographical data collection at or near expert levels](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ps-political-science-and-politics/article/applications-of-gpt-in-political-science-research-extracting-information-from-unstructured-text/7614D066F380A3751D298C2FF3C74F65), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Political Science Research and Methods (2024) — "How to Train Your Stochastic Parrot": BERT/RoBERTa fine-tuning practical for political text; PolitBERT and Political DEBATE recommended for reproducibility; open-weight models over proprietary for peer-reviewed work](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/political-science-research-and-methods/article/how-to-train-your-stochastic-parrot-large-language-models-for-political-texts/8EAA8096779B5C9DDBDF1BFC71C63AEC), accessed 2026-05-24
- [APSA Teaching and Learning / Journal of Political Science Education (2024-2025) — APSA faculty survey: 61% of political science instructors experimented with AI by spring 2025; APSA EDUCATE initiative on AI literacy as core disciplinary competency](https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/upse20), accessed 2026-05-24
- [APSA Teaching and Learning 2025 — ChatGPT as most-cited AI tool for syllabus drafting and exam-question generation by political science faculty; editorial judgment on field-defining readings and normative accuracy remains faculty responsibility](https://apsanet.org/events/teaching-learning-conference/), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.