A degree in general social sciences is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #54 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 162 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for general social sciences students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 18,997 degrees in general social sciences during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Your choice of general social sciences school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for general social sciences schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
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 Schools.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
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Best Schools for General Social Sciences in the United States
The schools below may not offer all types of social sciences degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Vanderbilt University is a great option for students interested in a degree in general social sciences. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.
There were approximately 258 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent data year. Those general social sciences students who get their degree from Vanderbilt University earn $23,285 more than the typical social sciences student.
It is hard to beat Columbia University in the City of New York if you wish to pursue a degree in general social sciences. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were roughly 21 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available.
Harvard University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in general social sciences. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Cambridge. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.
There were about 188 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general social sciences major at Harvard University make $9,935 above the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Any student who is interested in general social sciences has to take a look at University of Chicago. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were about 185 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available. General Social Sciences degree recipients from University of Chicago earn a boost of about $6,758 above the typical earnings of general social sciences majors.
Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Baltimore. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.
There were roughly 43 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent year we have data available. General Social Sciences degree recipients from Johns Hopkins University get an earnings boost of approximately $62,097 above the average income of general social sciences majors.
Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #27 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 61 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available. Those general social sciences students who get their degree from New York University make $7,675 more than the typical social sciences grad.
Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were approximately 131 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, social sciences degree recipients generally make about $33,674 in the first five years of their career.
USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 29 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, social sciences degree recipients typically make an average of $28,365 at the beginning of their careers.
Located in the city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 77 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were roughly 301 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Florida State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general social sciences program at Florida State University get $3,121 above the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
U of U is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Salt Lake City. This university ranks 3rd out of 13 colleges for overall quality in the state of Utah.
There were approximately 125 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at U of U in the most recent year we have data available. Those general social sciences students who get their degree from University of Utah earn $6,148 more than the average social sciences grad.
UO is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Eugene. This university ranks 2nd out of 30 schools for overall quality in the state of Oregon.
There were approximately 316 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UO in the most recent data year. After graduating, social sciences degree recipients typically make around $31,960 at the beginning of their careers.
Colgate is a small private not-for-profit university located in the distant town of Hamilton. This university ranks 5th out of 142 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were roughly 2 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Colgate in the most recent data year.
U-M is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were about 9 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #37 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UW Seattle is a great university overall.
There were roughly 86 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the general social sciences program at University of Washington - Seattle Campus make $14,344 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were approximately 4 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.
Ohio State is a very large public university located in the large city of Columbus. This university ranks 2nd out of 96 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were about 13 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year.
Located in the suburb of Buffalo, University at Buffalo is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 142 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were approximately 318 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at University at Buffalo in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the social sciences program earn about $30,016 for their early career.
UC Irvine is a very large public university located in the large city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.
There were approximately 22 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the social sciences program state that they receive average early career income of $32,400.
Portland State University is a fairly large public university located in the city of Portland. This university ranks 7th out of 30 colleges for overall quality in the state of Oregon.
There were roughly 256 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Portland State University in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, social sciences degree recipients typically make about $31,905 in the first five years of their career.
USF Tampa is a fairly large public university located in the city of Tampa. This university ranks 8th out of 77 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were roughly 158 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at USF Tampa in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the social sciences program state that they receive average early career earnings of $31,797.
Syracuse is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Syracuse. This university ranks 12th out of 142 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were approximately 1 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Syracuse in the most recent year we have data available.
Tulane is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New Orleans. This university ranks 1st out of 29 colleges for overall quality in the state of Louisiana.
There were approximately 17 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Tulane in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, social sciences degree recipients usually earn an average of $34,203 in the first five years of their career.
UMGC is a very large public university located in the suburb of Adelphi. This university ranks 3rd out of 36 schools for overall quality in the state of Maryland.
There were roughly 210 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UMGC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general social sciences program at University of Maryland Global Campus make $3,359 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).