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2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k

11 Ranked Colleges
240 Degrees Awarded
$26,900 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

With 205,726 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, social sciences is the 5th most popular major in the United States. In 2017-2018, social sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $34,801 and had an average of $23,466 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 9,393 social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,924 and $24,385 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 240 social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,701 and $106,703 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in social sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent social sciences programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the social sciences program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 11 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Sciences (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region

#1

Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Washington University in St Louis. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k. This fairly large school is located in Saint Louis, Missouri, and it awarded 29 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

WUSTL did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at WUSTL are $56,562.

Read full report on Social Sciences at WUSTL

#2

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #2 spot on the list. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s social sciences degrees to 56 students in 2019-2020.

UMN Twin Cities did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UMN Twin Cities are $28,845, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

#3 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Iowa State is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 19 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State also made our “Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at Iowa State University are $25,948, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Iowa State University

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Missouri - Columbia. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k. University of Missouri - Columbia is located in Columbia, Missouri and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 24 doctorate’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.

Mizzou not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Mizzou are $27,193.

Read more about Social Sciences at Mizzou

#5

University of Missouri - St Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri
#12 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Missouri - St Louis. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k. University of Missouri - St Louis is a fairly large school located in Saint Louis, Missouri that handed out 3 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UMSL also took the #12 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UMSL are $30,154, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Missouri - St Louis

#6

South Dakota State University

Brookings, South Dakota
#5 in overall quality

South Dakota State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Brookings, South Dakota is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s social sciences degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at South Dakota State, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at South Dakota State University are $16,743, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Social Sciences at South Dakota State

#8 in overall quality

University of Nebraska - Lincoln came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This large school is located in Lincoln, Nebraska, and it awarded 11 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UNL also took the #8 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Nebraska - Lincoln are $19,513, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Social Sciences at University of Nebraska - Lincoln

#8

Kansas State University

Manhattan, Kansas
#9 in overall quality

Kansas State University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. K -State is a large public school situated in Manhattan, Kansas. It awarded 17 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

K -State also made our “Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #9. Average graduate tuition and fees at Kansas State University are $24,115, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Social Sciences at K -State

#9

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, University of Iowa did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Iowa City, Iowa, and it awarded 14 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region doctor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $30-$48k list, Iowa has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Iowa are $27,613.

Read more about Social Sciences at Iowa

#10

University of Kansas

Lawrence, Kansas
#7 in overall quality

University of Kansas did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #10. KU is a large school located in Lawrence, Kansas that handed out 23 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

KU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Kansas are $25,007, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Social Sciences at KU

#11

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, South Dakota
#11 in overall quality

With a ranking of #11, University of South Dakota did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of South Dakota is a medium-sized school located in Vermillion, South Dakota that handed out 2 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region doctor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $30-$48k list, USD has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at USD are $12,637, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of South Dakota Social Sciences Report

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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