College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best General Social Sciences Schools in California

24 Colleges in California
9,318 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$28,123 Avg Early-Career Salary
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 24 schools in California 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 9,318 degrees in general social sciences during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great General Social Sciences School

Best General Social Sciences Schools in California 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.

General Social Sciences Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Social Sciences
Bachelor's Degrees in Social Sciences
Master's Degrees in Social Sciences

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best General Social Sciences Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. 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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for General Social Sciences in California

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.

10 Top California Schools in Social Sciences

1

It is hard to beat University of Southern California if you wish to pursue a degree in general social sciences. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large 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 data year. Soon after graduation, social sciences degree recipients typically earn an average of $28,365 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in general social sciences from University of Southern California

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$32,400 Median Starting Salary
$17,812 Median Student Debt

University of California - Irvine is a good choice for students interested in a degree in general social sciences. 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. Degree recipients from the general social sciences program at University of California - Irvine earn $4,277 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in general social sciences from University of California - Irvine

3
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
461 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$39,125 Median Starting Salary

Santa Rosa Junior College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in general social sciences. SRJC is a fairly large public college located in the midsize city of Santa Rosa. A Best Colleges rank of #364 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SRJC is a great college overall.

There were approximately 461 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at SRJC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general social sciences program at Santa Rosa Junior College get $11,002 above the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in general social sciences from Santa Rosa Junior College

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
74 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
28.4% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in general social sciences has to check out California State University - Chico. Located in the medium-sized city of Chico, Chico State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #453 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Chico State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 74 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Chico State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the social sciences program make about $26,584 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in general social sciences from California State University - Chico

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
53rd Most Popular In CA

San Jose State is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Jose. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means San Jose State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 11 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general social sciences from San Jose State University

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
66 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
4.5% Growth in Graduates

Stan State is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Turlock. This university ranks 96th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 66 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Stan State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the social sciences program state that they receive average early career wages of $26,464.

More information about a degree in general social sciences from California State University - Stanislaus

7

CSUSM is a large public university located in the suburb of San Marcos. A Best Colleges rank of #439 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means CSUSM is a great university overall.

There were roughly 30 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at CSUSM in the most recent data year. Those general social sciences students who get their degree from California State University - San Marcos receive $5,466 more than the average social sciences student.

More information about a degree in general social sciences from California State University - San Marcos

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
61 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
9.8% Growth in Graduates

SDSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.

There were about 61 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the social sciences program state that they receive average early career wages of $26,805.

More information about a degree in general social sciences from San Diego State University

9
Whittier crest
Whittier College
Whittier, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$23,267 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Whittier, Whittier is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 121st out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 29 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Whittier in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the social sciences program report average early career earnings of $23,267.

More information about a degree in general social sciences from Whittier College

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
53rd Most Popular In CA
27.3% Growth in Graduates

Humboldt State University is a moderately-sized public university located in the remote town of Arcata. This university ranks 126th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 11 general social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Humboldt State University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general social sciences from Humboldt State University

Best General Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best General Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 518
Oregon 266 614
Nevada 192 31
Hawaii 164 134
Alaska 119 21

View All Rankings >

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 9,318

View All Social Sciences Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Sociology 15,499
Economics 10,520
Political Science & Government 8,530
Anthropology 2,822
International Relations & National Security 1,387
Geography & Cartography 1,251
Other Social Sciences 451
Urban Studies 361
Archeology 48
Demography & Population Studies 34

View All Social Sciences Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options