Download the CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk file from https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/ (Excel or CSV format); this is the current official crosswalk published jointly by NCES and BLS
Parse the crosswalk: each row maps a 6-digit CIP code (e.g., 11.0101 for Computer and Information Sciences, General) to one or more 6-digit SOC codes (e.g., 15-1252.00)
Note that the relationship is many-to-many: one CIP code may map to multiple SOC codes, and one SOC code may appear under multiple CIP codes; build a lookup table accordingly
For Perkins V and workforce reporting, use the CIP-to-SOC mapping to document that a CTE program aligns to in-demand occupations; include the SOC title and BLS wage data as supporting evidence
Retrieve BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) data via the BLS public API at https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/ using the OES series ID pattern OES{areacode}{SOCcode}{datatype} for wage data lookup
Validate CIP codes against the authoritative IPEDS CIP code lookup tool at https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/search.aspx before submitting in federal reports
Known gotchas
The CIP-SOC crosswalk is based on expert judgment and content alignment, not labor market outcome data; programs with the same CIP code may have very different employment outcomes, so the crosswalk should be a starting point for analysis, not a definitive outcome mapping
CIP 2020 and CIP 2010 codes are not always compatible; programs using legacy CIP 2010 codes in federal reporting must map to CIP 2020 equivalents, as some codes were restructured or renumbered
BLS OEWS data is released annually (typically May); using wage data from the prior year in a Perkins V report filed after the new release date may be flagged by state reviewers
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