by our College Data Analytics Team
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Social Sciences is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 5th of all the majors we analyze. In 2020-2021, 205,984 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2019-2020, social sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $36,262 and had an average of $23,306 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Plains States region, there were 8,884 social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,904 and $24,673 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 229 social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,829 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer a degree in social sciences. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their social sciences program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region”.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Capella University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region. Capella University is a large school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 61 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a public institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 59 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Out of the 13 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Missouri - Columbia landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Missouri - Columbia is a public institution located in Columbia, Missouri. The school has a large population, and it awarded 23 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 13 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington University in St Louis landed the #4 spot on the list. WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Louis, Missouri. It awarded 14 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region. University of Missouri - St Louis is located in Saint Louis, Missouri and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 doctorate’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #6, University of South Dakota did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region list. University of South Dakota is located in Vermillion, South Dakota and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 doctorate’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Kansas State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Manhattan, Kansas, this large public school awarded 13 degrees to qualified doctorate’s social sciences students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
University of Kansas ranked #8 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region list. KU is a public institution located in Lawrence, Kansas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #9, Iowa State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region list. This large school is located in Ames, Iowa, and it awarded 13 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #10, University of Iowa did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region list. This large school is located in Iowa City, Iowa, and it awarded 12 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
South Dakota State University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region ranking. South Dakota State University is a public institution located in Brookings, South Dakota. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #12, University of Nebraska - Lincoln did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region list. UNL is a large public school situated in Lincoln, Nebraska. It awarded 6 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Full University of Nebraska - Lincoln Social Sciences Report
Saint Louis University ranked #13 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Plains States Region list. SLU is a fairly large school located in Saint Louis, Missouri that handed out 117 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
