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2024 Best General Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools

22 Colleges in the United States
596 Master's Degrees
$52,218 Avg Early-Career Salary
When it comes to popularity, a master's degree in general social sciences sits in the middle of the road, ranking #142 out of 343 majors in the country. So, it might take a little more work to find colleges and universities that offer the degree program.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 22 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best General Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 596 master's degrees in general social sciences to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great General Social Sciences School for Your Master's Degree

Best General Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools Your choice of general social sciences for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality social sciences program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for general social sciences students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Social Sciences Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The social sciences school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best General Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study General Social Sciences in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in general social sciences.

10 Top Schools for a Master's in Social Sciences

1
18 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in general social sciences needs to check out Columbia University in the City of New York. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in general social sciences from Columbia University in the City of New York

2

It is hard to beat University of Chicago if you wish to pursue a master's degree in general social sciences. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Master's students who receive their degree from the social sciences program earn around $39,749 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a master’s in general social sciences from University of Chicago

3
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in general social sciences has to take a look at Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville.More information about a master’s in general social sciences from Vanderbilt University

4
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
2 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in general social sciences has to check out Harvard University. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.More information about a master’s in general social sciences from Harvard University

4

It's hard to beat Johns Hopkins University if you want to pursue a master's degree in general social sciences. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Baltimore.

General Social Sciences master's degree recipients from Johns Hopkins University get an earnings boost of about $42,870 above the average income of general social sciences majors.

More information about a master’s in general social sciences from Johns Hopkins University

5
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC

Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in general social sciences from Georgetown University

6
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY

Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in general social sciences from New York University

6
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
2 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in general social sciences from Michigan State University

7
Bellevue University crest
Bellevue University
Bellevue, NE

Bellevue University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Bellevue.

Students who graduate with their master's from the social sciences program report average early career wages of $39,917.

More information about a master’s in general social sciences from Bellevue University

8
10 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Macon, Mercer is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in general social sciences from Mercer University

General Social Sciences by Region

View the Best General Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 13 majors within the Social Sciences area of study, General Social Sciences has other similar majors worth exploring.

Social Sciences Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Social Sciences 498
Research Methodology & Quantitative Methods 98

Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 4,803
International Relations & National Security 4,426
Political Science & Government 1,936
Sociology 1,298
Geography & Cartography 1,076
Anthropology 941
Other Social Sciences 378
Urban Studies 351
Demography & Population Studies 51
Archeology 48

Notes and References

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