Somewhat Resilient
Last Update: 8/30/2026
AI Resilience Score for Poli Sci Prof (Postsec):
42.2%
Median Score
Meaningful human contribution
Measures the parts of the occupation that still require a human touch. This score averages data from up to four AI exposure datasets, focusing on the role’s resilience against automation.
Med
Long-term employer demand
Predicts the health of the job market for this role through 2034. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it balances projected annual job openings (60%) with overall employment growth (40%).
Low
Sustained economic opportunity
Measures future earning potential and career flexibility. This score is a blend of total projected labor income (67%) and the role’s inherent ability to adapt to economic and technological shifts (33%).
Med
This reflects the reliability of your score based on the number of data sources available for this career and how closely those sources agree on the outlook. A higher confidence means more consistent evidence from labor experts and AI models.
There are a reasonable number of sources for this result, but there is some disagreement between them.
Contributing sources
AI Resilience Report forPolitical Science Teachers, Postsecondary
$98,070 median salary•1,500 annual openings•SOC Code: 25-1065.00
Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary are somewhat less resilient to AI impacts than most occupations, according to our analysis of 7 sources.
Political science professors are labeled "Somewhat Resilient" because AI is actively changing how they work, even if it is not replacing them outright. The administrative and routine parts of the job (like drafting syllabi, tracking attendance, and building bibliographies) are already being handled by AI tools, which means the role is genuinely shifting rather than staying the same.
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Political science professors are labeled "Somewhat Resilient" because AI is actively changing how they work, even if it is not replacing them outright. The administrative and routine parts of the job (like drafting syllabi, tracking attendance, and building bibliographies) are already being handled by AI tools, which means the role is genuinely shifting rather than staying the same.
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Poli Sci Prof (Postsec)
Updated Quarterly
How is AI changing Poli Sci Prof (Postsec) jobs?
Right now, AI is mostly augmenting — not replacing — political science professors. It's helping them with the busywork tasks that used to eat up their evenings. According to the OECD Digital Education Outlook 2026 [1], generative AI tools are being used by teachers to "support their work in the classroom," including drafting materials, running analyses of learning pathways, and helping study advisors — the kinds of administrative tasks (attendance records, bibliographies, syllabi) that O*NET flags as most automatable.
In political science specifically, a Journal of Political Science Education study out of Cal State Chico [2] tested 16 low-stakes assignments across two semesters and rewrote prompts to encourage "appropriate use" of generative AI while cutting down misuse — showing instructors are actively redesigning coursework rather than handing it over to bots. That said, adoption is happening fast: an Elon University/AAC&U national survey [3] of 1,057 faculty found 86% believe GenAI is likely to impact the work and role of those who teach in higher education, and 79% expect their department's typical teaching model to change.
Sources
How fast is AI adoption growing for Poli Sci Prof (Postsec)?
Adoption in higher ed will probably be uneven and cautious, and that's actually good news for people worried about their future professors. Inside Higher Ed's 2026 outlook [4] notes that university-tech partnerships boomed in 2025 (Cal State with Microsoft/OpenAI, Canvas integrating OpenAI tools, Ohio State's AI Fluency initiative), which lowers cost barriers for schools. But faculty pushback is real: College Board research on 3,000+ faculty [5] found near-universal concern that student AI use undermines original writing and critical thinking, and an Axios report on a UC Berkeley study [6] showed "excellent" grades jumped 30% in writing-heavy classes after ChatGPT — a red flag pushing schools to slow down and rethink assessment.
The tasks least likely to be automated for political science teachers — advising student organizations, serving on committees, and running departments — are exactly what makes the human role irreplaceable: they require judgment, mentorship, and institutional trust. If you're drawn to teaching politics, the future looks less like "AI takes your job" and more like "AI handles the paperwork so you can focus on people, ideas, and democracy" — skills the APSA teaching symposium for 2026 [2] is actively helping instructors build.
Sources
Will AI replace Poli Sci Prof (Postsec)?
Not entirely. We think AI will take over some tasks, but not the whole job.
Our scorecard gives this role a 42.2% AI Resilience Score, which means real change is coming, but replacement is not the right word. Right now, AI is handling the busywork: drafting syllabi, building bibliographies, tracking attendance. That frees up professors to do what actually requires a human in the room. A national faculty survey found 86% of higher ed instructors believe GenAI will impact how they teach, and 79% expect their department's typical teaching model to change [3]. That is disruption, not elimination.
What stays human is the core of the job: advising student organizations, mentoring young people through political ideas that actually matter to their lives, running departments, and modeling how to think critically about power and democracy. Those tasks require judgment and institutional trust that AI simply cannot replicate. Political science instructors are already redesigning coursework to encourage thoughtful AI use rather than ceding ground to it [2].
The honest caveat is that the job market for postsecondary teachers is under real pressure, and our demand score reflects that. But if you love politics and teaching, the path forward is learning to work alongside these tools, not competing against them.
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Latest AI news for Poli Sci Prof (Postsec)
The recommended articles highlight the significant impact of AI on postsecondary teaching, especially in political science. For instance, the Swarthmore professors discuss how generative AI can reshape classroom dynamics and curriculum, encouraging educators to adapt their teaching methods. Additionally, the finding that college professors face high exposure to AI tools underscores the need for political science educators to integrate AI literacy into their courses, fostering critical thinking about technology's role in democracy. Embracing these changes can enhance teaching effectiveness and prepare students for a future where AI is integral to political discourse.
Office Hours: Faculty on the Implications of Generative AI for Higher Education
swarthmorephoenix.com • 11/20/2025
Swarthmore professors share their thoughts on the growing prevalence of generative artificial intelligence and its implications for higher...
New study reveals early impact of AI on job market in UK
www.kcl.ac.uk • 10/7/2025
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the UK labour market, with high-paying firms and professional occupations experiencing the most...
Universities could bolster democracy by fostering students’ AI literacy
theconversation.com • 8/28/2025
AI has generated enormous challenges in post-secondary education. It also offers potential for citizenship education, if handled properly.
College professors face the highest exposure to AI tools, study finds
universitybusiness.com • 3/24/2023
Of the 20 occupations most exposed to AI language modeling capabilities, 14 of them were postsecondary teachers.
Growth trends for selected occupations considered at risk from automation
www.bls.gov • 7/13/2022
Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics have led to substantial concern that large-scale job losses are imminent.
More Career Info
Career: Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary
They teach college students about government systems, political theories, and global politics, helping them understand how politics affect the world.
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Employment & Wage Data
Median Wage
$98,070
Jobs (2025)
21,500
Growth (2025-35)
+2.5%
Annual Openings
1,500
Education
Doctoral or professional degree
Experience
None
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025-2035
Task-Level AI Resilience Scores
AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years
1
Participate in campus and community events.
2
Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
3
Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.
4
Act as advisers to student organizations.
5
Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
6
Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
7
Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.
