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2024 Best Social Sciences Schools in Iowa

8 Colleges in Iowa
1,455 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$34,710 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.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 8 schools in Iowa to determine which ones were the best for social sciences students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,455 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 in Iowa 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

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 Iowa list to help you make the college 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 Iowa

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.

Top Iowa Schools in Social Sciences

1
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
495 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$35,772 Median Starting Salary

University of Iowa is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in social sciences. Iowa is a very large public university located in the small city of Iowa City. A Best Colleges rank of #84 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.

There were about 494.99999999999994 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the social sciences program earn about $35,772 in the first couple years of their career.

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

2
Grinnell crest
Grinnell College
Grinnell, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
119 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$38,690 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in social sciences needs to look into Grinnell College. Located in the remote town of Grinnell, Grinnell is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #103 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Grinnell is a great college overall.

There were about 119 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Grinnell in the most recent year we have data available. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Grinnell College receive $3,980 more than the typical social sciences grad.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Grinnell College

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
192 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$36,595 Median Starting Salary

Iowa State University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in social sciences. Located in the small city of Ames, Iowa State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #75 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 192 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent data year. After graduating, social sciences degree recipients usually earn about $36,595 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Iowa State University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
155 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
1.3% Growth in Graduates

University of Northern Iowa is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in social sciences. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #199 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.

There were about 154.99999999999997 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences degree program at University of Northern Iowa earn $4,082 above the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Northern Iowa

5
Drake crest
Drake University
Des Moines, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
79 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
13.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 5th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were roughly 79 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Drake in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, social sciences degree recipients generally earn about $31,893 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Drake University

6
Luther crest
Luther College
Decorah, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
38 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
23.7% Growth in Graduates

Luther is a small private not-for-profit college located in the remote town of Decorah. This college ranks 7th out of 40 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 38 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Luther in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the social sciences program make around $30,592 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Luther College

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
86 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$37,976 Median Starting Salary

Located in the remote area of Fayette, UIU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 17th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were about 86 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UIU in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Upper Iowa University receive an earnings boost of about $3,265 above the average earnings of social sciences graduates.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Upper Iowa University

8
Loras crest
Loras College
Dubuque, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$29,535 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Dubuque, Loras is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 16th out of 40 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were roughly 25 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Loras in the most recent data year. After graduating, social sciences degree recipients generally earn about $29,535 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Loras College

Best Social Sciences Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Kansas 38 1,051
Minnesota 38 2,726
South Dakota 38 262
Missouri 38 2,116
Nebraska 36 819
North Dakota 35 188

View All Rankings >

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 406
Economics 321
Sociology 237
Anthropology 103
International Relations & National Security 75
Geography & Cartography 45
General Social Sciences 36
Other Social Sciences 16
Sociology & Anthropology 3

View All Social Sciences Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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