Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in political science, international affairs, and international relations. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Most important skills
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Active Learning
- Instructing
- Critical Thinking
- Learning Strategies
Key knowledge
- English Language
- Law and Government
- Education and Training
- History and Archeology
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Geography
- Philosophy and Theology
- Customer and Personal Service
What the work involves
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as classical political thought, international relations, and democracy and citizenship.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Investigative, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Doctoral Degree (96.5% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (33.5%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (54.3%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 68% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Higher on dealing with the public than 54% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 87% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 93% of occupations compared | 76% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 72% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 57% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 59% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 99% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0.34%
- Contact with others about half the time: 19.36%
- Contact with others most of the time: 47.08%
- Constant contact with others: 33.21%
n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 13.55%
- Fairly important: 11.65%
- Important: 18.54%
- Very important: 20.23%
- Extremely important: 36.02%
n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0.34%
- Fairly important: 21.16%
- Important: 27.45%
- Very important: 17.16%
- Extremely important: 33.88%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2019
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0.11%
- Limited freedom: 0%
- Some freedom: 24.36%
- A lot of freedom: 75.54%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2019
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 14.15%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 34.32%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 31.83%
- Every day: 19.7%
n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019
Conflict situations
- Never: 2.3%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 48.01%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 31.57%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 10.06%
- Every day: 8.06%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 2.69%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 23.7%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 60.8%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 2.14%
- Every day: 10.68%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2019
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 49.54%
- Fairly serious: 48.71%
- Serious: 1.64%
- Very serious: 0.11%
- Extremely serious: 0%
n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019
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O*NET-SOC 25-1065.00 · SOC 25-1065 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8