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2024 Best Social Sciences Schools in California

61 Colleges in California
51,680 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$35,887 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 reviewed 61 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of social sciences. Combined, these schools handed out 51,680 degrees in social sciences to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Social Sciences School

Best Social Sciences Schools in California The social sciences program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Social Sciences rankings. 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.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Social Sciences 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

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 Schools in California. 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 California

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.

10 Top California Schools in Social Sciences

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
357 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$55,775 Median Starting Salary

Stanford University is a good decision for students interested in a degree in social sciences. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. 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 data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Stanford University get an earnings boost of around $19,888 over the typical income of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Stanford University

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

It's hard to beat University of California - Berkeley if you want to pursue a degree in social sciences. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 2093 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social sciences degree program at University of California - Berkeley earn $17,117 above the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2,813 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$37,683 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in social sciences. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were approximately 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 Angeles

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
976 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
11.7% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in social sciences needs to take a look at University of Southern California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools 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 data year. Those social sciences students who get their degree from University of Southern California receive $11,471 more than the average social sciences student.

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

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
179 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
1.1% Growth in Graduates

Claremont McKenna is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Claremont. 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. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Claremont McKenna College receive $59,679 more than the average social sciences graduate.

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

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2,053 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$37,039 Median Starting Salary

UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Santa Barbara. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were roughly 2053 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the social sciences program make around $37,039 in the first couple years of their career.

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

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,848 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
8.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were about 1848 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year. After graduation, social sciences degree recipients generally earn an average of $33,988 in the first five years of their career.

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

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,404 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
10.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were roughly 1404 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from University of California - San Diego earn a boost of about $3,378 above the typical income of social sciences majors.

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

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,517 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
2.5% Growth in Graduates

UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were approximately 1517 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the social sciences program state that they receive average early career income of $33,118.

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

10
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
240 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
10.0% Growth in Graduates

SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Santa Clara. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were about 240 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences program at Santa Clara University earn $14,258 more than the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Santa Clara University

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Social Sciences Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
11 Pomona College Claremont, CA
12 University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA
13 University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA
14 Claremont Graduate University Claremont, CA
15 Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey Monterey, CA

Best Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 37 3,809
Oregon 37 2,616
Hawaii 36 586
Nevada 35 922
Alaska 33 90

View All Rankings >

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Sociology 15,499
Economics 10,520
General Social Sciences 9,318
Political Science & Government 8,530
Anthropology 2,822
International Relations & National Security 1,387
Geography & Cartography 1,251
Other Social Sciences 451
Urban Studies 361
Archeology 48

View All Social Sciences Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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