2024 Best Social Sciences Schools
649
Colleges in the United States
205,984
Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$36,262
Avg Early-Career Salary
Social Sciences is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #5 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
College Factual looked at 649 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Social Sciences Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 205,984 degrees in social sciences during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Social Sciences School

Your choice of social sciences school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Social Sciences School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Social Sciences Rankings by Degree Level
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Social Sciences Schools 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 Social Sciences in the United States
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. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
25 Top Schools in Social Sciences
University of Chicago is a wonderful option for students interested in a degree in social sciences. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were approximately 1278 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from University of Chicago earn a boost of about $15,155 over the average earnings of social sciences graduates.
More information about a degree in social sciences from University of ChicagoAny student pursuing a degree in social sciences has to take a look at Yale University. Located in the medium-sized city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Yale is a great university overall.
There were roughly 528 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Yale University get an earnings boost of around $34,920 over the typical income of social sciences majors.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Yale UniversityIt's difficult to beat Vanderbilt University if you want to pursue a degree in social sciences. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville. This university ranks 1st out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.
There were about 705 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Vanderbilt University earn a boost of approximately $21,386 above the average income of social sciences majors.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Vanderbilt UniversityIt is difficult to beat Northwestern University if you want to pursue a degree in social sciences. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were roughly 663 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences major at Northwestern University get $14,996 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Northwestern UniversityHarvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.
There were approximately 871 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent year we have data available. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Harvard University earn $26,120 more than the standard social sciences grad.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Harvard UniversityLocated in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were about 642 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania receive an earnings boost of approximately $16,338 above the average earnings of social sciences majors.
More information about a degree in social sciences from University of PennsylvaniaLocated in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were approximately 530 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Duke University get an earnings boost of around $29,800 above the average earnings of social sciences majors.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Duke UniversityJohns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Baltimore. This university ranks 1st out of 36 colleges for overall quality in the state of Maryland.
There were roughly 1363.9999999999998 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences major at Johns Hopkins University get $37,931 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Johns Hopkins UniversityStanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.
There were about 357 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Stanford University make $19,513 more than the standard social sciences grad.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Stanford UniversityRice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Houston. This university ranks 1st out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were roughly 266 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Rice in the most recent data year. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Rice University receive $51,727 more than the typical social sciences student.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Rice UniversityLocated in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were roughly 1314 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social sciences major at Columbia University in the City of New York make $14,720 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Columbia University in the City of New YorkUC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley. This university ranks 4th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 2093 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley receive an earnings boost of about $16,741 over the average earnings of social sciences majors.
More information about a degree in social sciences from University of California - BerkeleyLocated in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 8 schools for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.
There were about 1193 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent data year. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Georgetown University receive $21,329 more than the standard social sciences graduate.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Georgetown UniversityPrinceton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Princeton. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Princeton is a great university overall.
There were about 349 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Princeton in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences program at Princeton University earn $18,636 above the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Princeton UniversityLocated in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 42 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were about 552 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year. Those social sciences students who get their degree from University of Notre Dame receive $10,756 more than the standard social sciences graduate.
More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Notre DameLocated in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 5th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 2813 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UCLA 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 $37,683.
More information about a degree in social sciences from University of California - Los AngelesLocated in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 48 colleges for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were roughly 375 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent year we have data available. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Washington University in St Louis make $7,924 more than the standard social sciences grad.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Washington University in St LouisUSC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the 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 about 976 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from University of Southern California receive an earnings boost of approximately $11,096 above the average income of social sciences graduates.
More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Southern CaliforniaDartmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit college located in the remote town of Hanover. This college ranks 1st out of 17 schools for overall quality in the state of New Hampshire.
There were roughly 450 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Dartmouth in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Dartmouth College receive an earnings boost of around $19,098 above the average income of social sciences graduates.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Dartmouth CollegeLocated in the city of New York, Teachers College is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #12 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Teachers College is a great university overall.
There were about 91 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Teachers College in the most recent year we have data available. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Teachers College at Columbia University receive $27,027 more than the standard social sciences grad.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Teachers College at Columbia UniversityCornell is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Ithaca. This university ranks 3rd out of 142 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were approximately 523 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Cornell University earn a boost of around $14,768 above the typical earnings of social sciences graduates.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Cornell UniversityLocated in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont McKenna is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Claremont McKenna is a great college overall.
There were approximately 179 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Claremont McKenna in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Claremont McKenna College earn a boost of around $59,304 above the average earnings of social sciences graduates.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Claremont McKenna CollegeUniversity of Virginia is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Charlottesville. This university ranks 1st out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were about 995 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at University of Virginia in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social sciences major at University of Virginia - Main Campus earn $6,024 more than the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Virginia - Main CampusLocated in the city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 9 colleges for overall quality in the state of Rhode Island.
There were roughly 418.99999999999994 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Brown University receive an earnings boost of approximately $2,708 above the average earnings of social sciences majors.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Brown UniversityLocated in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 68 colleges for overall quality in the state of Georgia.
There were roughly 458 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social sciences program at Emory University get $2,658 above the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in social sciences from Emory University