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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

Best Social Sciences Schools 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

Associate Degrees in Social Sciences
Bachelor's Degrees in Social Sciences
Master's Degrees in Social Sciences
Doctor's Degrees in Social Sciences

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

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,278 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
11.3% Growth in Graduates

University of Chicago is a good option for students pursuing a degree in social sciences. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly 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 around $15,155 over the average income of social sciences graduates.

More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Chicago

2
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
528 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$71,181 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in social sciences has to check out 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 schools nationwide means Yale is a great university overall.

There were about 528 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Yale University earn a boost of approximately $34,920 over the average income of social sciences graduates.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Yale University

3
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
705 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
3.5% Growth in Graduates

It is hard 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 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were approximately 705 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Vanderbilt University get an earnings boost of approximately $21,386 above the average earnings of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Vanderbilt University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
663 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$51,258 Median Starting Salary

It's hard 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 city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools 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 program at Northwestern University earn $14,996 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Northwestern University

5
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
871 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$62,382 Median Starting Salary

Harvard 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 about 871 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent data year. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Harvard University receive $26,120 more than the typical social sciences grad.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Harvard University

6
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
642 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
0.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large 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 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.

There were roughly 642 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania earn a boost of about $16,338 above the average earnings of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Pennsylvania

7
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
530 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$66,062 Median Starting Salary

Located in the 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 colleges nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.

There were roughly 530 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Duke University earn a boost of about $29,800 above the average earnings of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Duke University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,364 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$74,193 Median Starting Salary

Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Baltimore. This university ranks 1st out of 36 colleges for overall quality in the state of Maryland.

There were about 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 program at Johns Hopkins University get $37,931 above the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Johns Hopkins University

9
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
357 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$55,775 Median Starting Salary

Stanford is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were roughly 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 graduate.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Stanford University

10
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
266 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
14.7% Growth in Graduates

Rice is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Houston. This university ranks 1st out of 115 schools 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 earn $51,727 more than the typical social sciences grad.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Rice University

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,314 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$50,982 Median Starting Salary

Located in the 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 data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences major at Columbia University in the City of New York earn $14,720 more than the standard college graduate 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 York

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2,093 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
4.8% Growth in Graduates

UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley. This university ranks 4th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 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 get an earnings boost of about $16,741 above the typical earnings of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from University of California - Berkeley

13
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,193 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$57,590 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 8 colleges 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 year we have data available. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Georgetown University earn $21,329 more than the typical social sciences student.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Georgetown University

14
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
349 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$54,898 Median Starting Salary

Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Princeton. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Princeton is a great university overall.

There were roughly 349 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Princeton in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social sciences major at Princeton University earn $18,636 above the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Princeton University

15
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
552 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$47,018 Median Starting Salary

Located 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 year we have data available. Those social sciences students who get their degree from University of Notre Dame make $10,756 more than the average social sciences student.

More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Notre Dame

16
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2,813 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$37,683 Median Starting Salary

Located 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 roughly 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 report average early career wages of $37,683.

More information about a degree in social sciences from University of California - Los Angeles

17
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
375 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$44,185 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 48 schools 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 average social sciences graduate.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Washington University in St Louis

18
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
976 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
11.7% Growth in Graduates

USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 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 get an earnings boost of around $11,096 above the average earnings of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Southern California

19
Dartmouth crest
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
450 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
9.1% Growth in Graduates

Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the 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 data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Dartmouth College get an earnings boost of about $19,098 above the average income of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Dartmouth College

20
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
91 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
9.9% Growth in Graduates

Located 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 earn $27,027 more than the standard social sciences graduate.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Teachers College at Columbia University

21
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
523 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
4.0% Growth in Graduates

Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Ithaca. This university ranks 3rd out of 142 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were roughly 523 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Cornell University get an earnings boost of approximately $14,768 over the average earnings of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Cornell University

22
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
179 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
1.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large 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 data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Claremont McKenna College earn a boost of approximately $59,304 over the typical income of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Claremont McKenna College

23
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
995 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$42,285 Median Starting Salary

University of Virginia is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Charlottesville. This university ranks 1st out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.

There were roughly 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 degree program at University of Virginia - Main Campus earn $6,024 more than the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Virginia - Main Campus

24
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
419 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$38,970 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 9 schools 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 data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Brown University receive an earnings boost of about $2,708 over the typical earnings of social sciences graduates.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Brown University

25
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
458 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
7.6% Growth in Graduates

Located 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 schools for overall quality in the state of Georgia.

There were about 458 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences degree program at Emory University get $2,658 above the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Emory University

Rest of the Top 50 Best Social Sciences Schools

26
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
27
28
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
29
30
31
32

33
Boston College crest
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA

34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
Swarthmore crest
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA

42

43
Williams crest
Williams College
Williamstown, MA
44
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
45
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
46
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
47
48
Amherst crest
Amherst College
Amherst, MA
49
50
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC

Remaining Award Winners

This list represents the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Social Sciences Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 649 different United States social sciences schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA
52 Lafayette College Easton, PA
53 Lasell University Newton, MA
54 Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
55 Barnard College New York, NY
56 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
57 Carleton College Northfield, MN
58 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
59 Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
60 Colgate University Hamilton, NY
61 Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA
62 Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA
63 Pomona College Claremont, CA
64 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA
65 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
66 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC
67 Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX
68 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
69 University of Delaware Newark, DE
70 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
71 Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME
72 University of Georgia Athens, GA
73 Northeastern University Boston, MA
74 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
75 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
76 Trinity College Hartford, CT
77 The Graduate Center, CUNY New York, NY
78 Villanova University Villanova, PA
79 Wellesley College Wellesley, MA
80 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
81 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
82 University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA
83 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO
84 Brandeis University Waltham, MA
85 University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA
86 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
87 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
88 Denison University Granville, OH
89 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
90 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
91 Grinnell College Grinnell, IA
92 Claremont Graduate University Claremont, CA
93 Colby College Waterville, ME
94 Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Atlanta, GA
95 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
96 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
97 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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

Rank College Location
98 DePauw University Greencastle, IN
99 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
100 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
101 St Olaf College Northfield, MN
102 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
103 Fordham University Bronx, NY
104 Hamilton College Clinton, NY
105 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
106 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL
107 Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey Monterey, CA
108 Occidental College Los Angeles, CA
109 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ
110 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN
111 Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
112 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
113 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
114 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL
115 Binghamton University Vestal, NY
116 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
117 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
118 University of Oregon Eugene, OR
119 College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA
120 University of Denver Denver, CO
121 Haverford College Haverford, PA
122 Smith College Northampton, MA
123 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
124 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
125 Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO
126 Florida International University Miami, FL
127 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
128 Webster University Saint Louis, MO
129 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA

Social Sciences by Region

View the Best Social Sciences 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

View All Rankings >

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 49,282
Economics 49,055
Sociology 38,475
General Social Sciences 18,997
International Relations & National Security 14,306
Anthropology 11,415
Geography & Cartography 8,526
Other Social Sciences 2,414
Urban Studies 1,507
Sociology & Anthropology 541

View All Social Sciences Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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