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2025 Best Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools

609 Colleges in the United States
147,088 Bachelor's Degrees
$38,879 Avg Early-Career Salary
Social Sciences is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #3 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 609 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for social sciences students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 147,088 bachelor's degrees in social sciences to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools Your choice of social sciences for getting your bachelor'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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges 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.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

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 bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Social Sciences Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Social Sciences Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The social sciences school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

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

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor'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 Bachelor's in Social Sciences

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
876 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat University of Chicago if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in social sciences. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a bachelor’s in social sciences from University of Chicago

2
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
657 Annual Graduates

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

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
516 Annual Graduates

Northwestern University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor'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 bachelor’s in social sciences from Northwestern University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
670 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Columbia University in the City of New York if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in social sciences. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a bachelor’s in social sciences from Columbia University in the City of New York

5
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
486 Annual Graduates

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

6
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
356 Annual Graduates

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

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
284 Annual Graduates

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

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,864 Annual Graduates

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

9
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
772 Annual Graduates

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

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
384 Annual Graduates

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

11
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
557 Annual Graduates

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

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2,511 Annual Graduates

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

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
497 Annual Graduates

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

14
Boston College crest
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
558 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in social sciences from Boston College

15
Dartmouth crest
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
415 Annual Graduates

Located in the town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in social sciences from Dartmouth College

16
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
283 Annual Graduates

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

17
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
437 Annual Graduates

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

18
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,093 Annual Graduates

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

19
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
445 Annual Graduates

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

20
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
936 Annual Graduates

University of Virginia is a very large public university located in the suburb of Charlottesville.More information about a bachelor’s in social sciences from University of Virginia - Main Campus

21
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,049 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 bachelor’s in social sciences from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

22
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
681 Annual Graduates

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

23
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,096 Annual Graduates

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

24
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,258 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in social sciences from University of Maryland - College Park

25
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,825 Annual Graduates

UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Santa Barbara.More information about a bachelor’s in social sciences from University of California - Santa Barbara

Rest of the Top 50 Best Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools

26
27
28
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
29
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
30
31
32

33
Williams crest
Williams College
Williamstown, MA

34
35
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
36
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
37
38
39
40
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
41

42

43
44
45
46
47
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
48
49
Swarthmore crest
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA
50

Additional Award Winners

This list shows the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 20% of the 609 different United States social sciences schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
52 College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA
53 Barnard College New York, NY
54 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
55 Villanova University Villanova, PA
56 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
57 Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
58 Emory University Atlanta, GA
59 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
60 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
61 Amherst College Amherst, MA
62 Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME
63 Colgate University Hamilton, NY
64 Binghamton University Vestal, NY
65 Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX
66 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ
67 University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA
68 University of Georgia Athens, GA
69 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
70 University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA
71 Fordham University Bronx, NY
72 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC
73 Brandeis University Waltham, MA
74 Hamilton College Clinton, NY
75 Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA
76 Lafayette College Easton, PA
77 Wellesley College Wellesley, MA
78 Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA
79 Trinity College Hartford, CT
80 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
81 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
82 Colby College Waterville, ME
83 Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA
84 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
85 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
86 Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
87 Catholic University of America Washington, DC
88 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
89 University of Oregon Eugene, OR
90 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
91 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ
92 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO
93 University at Albany Albany, NY
94 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
95 Bates College Lewiston, ME
96 Carleton College Northfield, MN
97 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN
98 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL
99 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
100 Connecticut College New London, CT
101 Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO
102 University of New Hampshire - Main Campus Durham, NH
103 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
104 Providence College Providence, RI
105 Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY
106 Union College New York Schenectady, NY
107 Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA
108 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
109 St Olaf College Northfield, MN
110 Saint Anselm College Manchester, NH
111 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
112 Bard College Annandale-On-Hudson, NY
113 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
114 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
115 Haverford College Haverford, PA
116 University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA
117 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
118 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
119 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
120 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
121 Washington State University Pullman, WA

Honorable Mentions

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

Rank College Location
122 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
123 University of Denver Denver, CO
124 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
125 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
126 Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA
127 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
128 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
129 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL
130 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
131 Denison University Granville, OH
132 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
133 University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln, NE
134 Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
135 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
136 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
137 Fairfield University Fairfield, CT
138 Baylor University Waco, TX
139 Grinnell College Grinnell, IA
140 Iowa State University Ames, IA
141 Xavier University Cincinnati, OH
142 Smith College Northampton, MA
143 DePauw University Greencastle, IN
144 Florida International University Miami, FL
145 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA
146 Portland State University Portland, OR
147 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
148 Kenyon College Gambier, OH
149 University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Norman, OK
150 California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA
151 Dickinson College Carlisle, PA
152 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
153 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
154 Clemson University Clemson, SC
155 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
156 Towson University Towson, MD
157 Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA
158 Centre College Danville, KY
159 Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO
160 Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY
161 Kansas State University Manhattan, KS
162 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
163 Occidental College Los Angeles, CA
164 Macalester College Saint Paul, MN
165 Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA
166 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
167 California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA
168 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC
169 University of St Thomas Minnesota Saint Paul, MN
170 Citadel Military College of South Carolina Charleston, SC
171 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
172 Stockton University Galloway, NJ
173 Southern Illinois University Carbondale Carbondale, IL
174 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
175 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
176 Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA
177 DePaul University Chicago, IL
178 University of Central Florida Orlando, FL
179 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
180 Lasell University Newton, MA
181 Rutgers University - Newark Newark, NJ
182 Elon University Elon, NC
183 University of Minnesota - Duluth Duluth, MN
184 Texas State University San Marcos, TX
185 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
186 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
187 University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD
188 Ohio University - Athens Campus Athens, OH
189 Georgia State University Atlanta, GA
190 Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus Indiana, PA
191 Stonehill College Easton, MA
192 St Lawrence University Canton, NY
193 Arizona State University - Skysong Scottsdale, AZ
194 Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY
195 Rhodes College Memphis, TN
196 Illinois State University Normal, IL
197 Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL
198 Chapman University Orange, CA
199 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott Prescott, AZ
200 Utah State University Logan, UT
201 Marist College Poughkeepsie, NY
202 Wheaton College Illinois Wheaton, IL
203 Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI

Social Sciences by Region

View the Best Social Sciences Bachelor'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
Political Science & Government 42,363
Economics 37,777
Sociology 27,751
International Relations & National Security 8,561
Anthropology 8,434
General Social Sciences 5,486
Geography & Cartography 4,014
Other Social Sciences 1,491
Urban Studies 984
Sociology & Anthropology 519

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Journalism 89,939
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 39,135
English Language & Literature 36,642
History 24,256
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 21,033
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 20,084
Philosophy & Religious Studies 13,952
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies 9,424
Theology & Religious Vocations 7,600

Notes and References

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