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2025 Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools

199 Colleges in the United States
17,401 Master's Degrees
$62,380 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your master's degree in social sciences, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #9 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 199 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 17,401 master's degrees in social sciences to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools Your choice of social sciences for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

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

More Ways to Rank Social Sciences Schools

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 Master's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in social sciences. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Master's in Social Sciences

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,085 Annual Graduates

Johns Hopkins University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in social sciences. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Johns Hopkins University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
79 Annual Graduates

Northwestern University is a wonderful option for individuals interested in a master's degree in social sciences. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Northwestern University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
113 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in social sciences has to take a look at Cornell University. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Cornell University

4
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
29 Annual Graduates

Vanderbilt University is a great option for students interested in a master's degree in social sciences. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Vanderbilt University

5
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
273 Annual Graduates

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

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
387 Annual Graduates

UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Chicago

7
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
128 Annual Graduates

Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Duke University

8
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
524 Annual Graduates

Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Georgetown University

9
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
88 Annual Graduates

UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Pennsylvania

10
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
35 Annual Graduates

Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Providence.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Brown University

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
603 Annual Graduates

Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Columbia University in the City of New York

12
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
101 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Stanford University

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
24 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of California - Berkeley

14
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
541 Annual Graduates

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

15
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
259 Annual Graduates

UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of California - Los Angeles

16
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
75 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

17
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
432 Annual Graduates

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

18
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
156 Annual Graduates

Yale is a large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of New Haven.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Yale University

19
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
14 Annual Graduates

Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Notre Dame

20
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of California - Irvine

21
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
299 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Tufts University

22
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
92 Annual Graduates

UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

23
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
312 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Southern California

24
Williams crest
Williams College
Williamstown, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
27 Annual Graduates

Williams is a small private not-for-profit college located in the town of Williamstown.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Williams College

25
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
210 Annual Graduates

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

Rest of the Top Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools

26
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
27
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
28
Boston College crest
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
29
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
30
31
32

33

34
35
36
37
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
38
39

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Social Sciences students that almost earned our Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
40 Lasell University Newton, MA
41 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA
42 Northeastern University Boston, MA
43 Emory University Atlanta, GA
44 University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA
45 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN
46 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
47 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
48 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
49 Saint Joseph’s University Philadelphia, PA
50 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
51 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
52 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
53 Fordham University Bronx, NY
54 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
55 Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
56 Brandeis University Waltham, MA
57 Binghamton University Vestal, NY
58 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL
59 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
60 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
61 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
62 University of Denver Denver, CO
63 Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY
64 University of Georgia Athens, GA
65 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
66 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH

Social Sciences by Region

View the Best 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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Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Economics 4,686
International Relations & National Security 4,650
Political Science & Government 1,889
Sociology 1,428
Geography & Cartography 1,248
Anthropology 1,001
General Social Sciences 854
Urban Studies 382
Other Social Sciences 351
Archeology 60

Related Major Annual Graduates
Theology & Religious Vocations 13,436
Communication & Journalism 12,283
English Language & Literature 8,169
History 3,531
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 2,950
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 2,867
Philosophy & Religious Studies 2,236
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 1,863
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies 1,850

Notes and References

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