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2024 Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California

11 Colleges in California
492 Doctor's Degrees
$76,692 Avg Early-Career Salary
a doctor's degree in social sciences is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #10 out of 36 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.

College Factual reviewed 11 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of social sciences. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 492 doctor's degrees in social sciences during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Social Sciences School for Your Doctor's Degree

Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California The social sciences doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. 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

The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor'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 doctorate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their doctor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

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

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for social sciences students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Social Sciences in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in social sciences.

10 Top California Schools for a Doctorate in Social Sciences

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
66 Annual Graduates

Stanford University is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a doctor's degree in social sciences. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Stanford.More information about a doctorate in social sciences from Stanford University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
75 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in social sciences needs to check out University of California - Berkeley. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley.More information about a doctorate in social sciences from University of California - Berkeley

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
34 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a doctor's degree in social sciences has to take a look at University of Southern California. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a doctorate in social sciences from University of Southern California

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
62 Annual Graduates

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in social sciences. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in social sciences from University of California - Los Angeles

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Annual Graduates

UC Irvine is a very large public university located in the large city of Irvine.More information about a doctorate in social sciences from University of California - Irvine

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
44 Annual Graduates

Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in social sciences from University of California - Davis

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
34 Annual Graduates

UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the city of La Jolla.More information about a doctorate in social sciences from University of California - San Diego

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
34 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in social sciences from University of California - Santa Barbara

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
32 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont Graduate University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a doctorate in social sciences from Claremont Graduate University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Riverside, UCR is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in social sciences from University of California - Riverside

Best Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 27 61
Oregon 27 48
Nevada 25 14
Hawaii 23 16
Alaska 10 3

View All Rankings >

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Economics 203
Political Science & Government 80
Anthropology 72
Sociology 69
Geography & Cartography 36
International Relations & National Security 13
Archeology 5
Urban Studies 2
Other Social Sciences 2
Demography & Population Studies 1

Related Major Annual Graduates
Theology & Religious Vocations 247
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 142
History 87
English Language & Literature 72
Philosophy & Religious Studies 72
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies 35
Communication & Journalism 35
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 13
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 7

Notes and References

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