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2024 Best Social Sciences Schools in Pennsylvania

44 Colleges in Pennsylvania
8,215 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$37,140 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in social sciences is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #5 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual reviewed 44 schools in Pennsylvania to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of social sciences. Combined, these schools handed out 8,215 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 Pennsylvania 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. For our Best Overall Social Sciences School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

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

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Social Sciences Schools in Pennsylvania list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

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.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Social Sciences in Pennsylvania

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the social sciences degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Pennsylvania Schools in Social Sciences

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
642 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
0.8% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in social sciences has to check out University of Pennsylvania. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 colleges 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 year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social sciences degree program at University of Pennsylvania get $15,460 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

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

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
102 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
13.7% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat Carnegie Mellon University if you wish to pursue a degree in social sciences. Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.

There were approximately 102 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Carnegie Mellon University get an earnings boost of approximately $41,048 above the typical earnings of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Carnegie Mellon University

3
Swarthmore crest
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
98 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$49,574 Median Starting Salary

Swarthmore College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in social sciences. Located in the suburb of Swarthmore, Swarthmore is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #46 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Swarthmore is a great college overall.

There were approximately 98 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Swarthmore in the most recent data year. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Swarthmore College earn $12,434 more than the typical social sciences student.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Swarthmore College

4
Lafayette crest
Lafayette College
Easton, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
239 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$45,643 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in social sciences needs to check out Lafayette College. Located in the suburb of Easton, Lafayette is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #96 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Lafayette is a great college overall.

There were roughly 239 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Lafayette in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Lafayette College get an earnings boost of around $8,503 above the average earnings of social sciences graduates.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Lafayette College

5
Bucknell crest
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
282 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
6.0% Growth in Graduates

Bucknell is a small private not-for-profit university located in the town of Lewisburg. A Best Colleges rank of #66 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Bucknell is a great university overall.

There were about 282 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Bucknell in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Bucknell University earn a boost of approximately $9,908 over the typical income of social sciences graduates.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Bucknell University

6
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
325 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
14.8% Growth in Graduates

Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Villanova. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Villanova is a great university overall.

There were roughly 325 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Villanova in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social sciences program at Villanova University earn $9,040 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Villanova University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
680 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$31,616 Median Starting Salary

Pitt is a very large public university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #79 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Pitt is a great university overall.

There were approximately 680 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Pitt in the most recent data year. After graduating, social sciences degree recipients usually earn around $31,616 in the first five years of their career.

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

8
Haverford crest
Haverford College
Haverford, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
92 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$51,019 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Haverford, Haverford is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #177 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Haverford is a great college overall.

There were roughly 92 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Haverford in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social sciences degree program at Haverford College get $13,879 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Haverford College

9
St. Joe's crest
Saint Joseph's University
Philadelphia, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
203 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$38,630 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Philadelphia, St. Joe's is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #157 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means St. Joe's is a great university overall.

There were about 203 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at St. Joe's in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the social sciences program make about $38,630 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Saint Joseph’s University

10
Gettysburg crest
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
184 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$40,454 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Gettysburg, Gettysburg is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 18th out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were approximately 184 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Gettysburg in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Gettysburg College receive an earnings boost of around $3,315 above the typical income of social sciences graduates.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Gettysburg College

Best Social Sciences Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Social Sciences Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New Jersey 38 3,582
New York 38 16,964
Maryland 37 5,195
Delaware 33 865
District of Columbia 33 4,610

View All Rankings >

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Economics 2,417
Political Science & Government 2,088
Sociology 868
Geography & Cartography 678
International Relations & National Security 535
Anthropology 349
General Social Sciences 266
Other Social Sciences 127
Urban Studies 82
Sociology & Anthropology 50

View All Social Sciences Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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