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2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Sociology in California (With Aid)

11 Ranked Colleges
75 Degrees Awarded
$34,200 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Sociology is the 20th most popular major in the country with 37,747 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 14,493 sociology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 75 sociology graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in sociology. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality sociology programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the sociology program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Sociology Schools

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 Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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 Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 11 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Sociology in California (With Aid)

#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s sociology degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Sociology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Irvine are $28,456.

Read more about Sociology at University of California - Irvine

#2

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 6 degrees to qualified doctorate’s sociology students in 2019-2020.

Stanford also made our “Best Sociology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Sociology at Stanford University

#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid list. Located in La Jolla, California, this large public school awarded 6 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s sociology students in 2019-2020.

UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Sociology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - San Diego are $28,631.

Read full report on Sociology at UCSD

#4

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid. University of California - Los Angeles is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA also made our “Best Sociology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Sociology at UCLA

#9 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR also took the #9 spot in our “Best Sociology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Riverside are $28,686, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Sociology at UCR

#5 in overall quality

University of California - Berkeley came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s sociology degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Sociology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347.

Read more about Sociology at UC Berkeley

#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, University of California - Davis did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid list. UC Davis is a large school located in Davis, California that handed out 5 doctorate’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Sociology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Davis are $28,700.

Read more about Sociology at UC Davis

#8

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid list. UCSB is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 7 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSB also took the #8 spot in our “Best Sociology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSB are $28,670, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UCSB Sociology Report

#11 in overall quality

University of California - Merced came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Merced, California, this medium-sized public school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s sociology students in 2019-2020.

UC Merced also took the #11 spot in our “Best Sociology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Merced are $43,854.

Read full report on Sociology at University of California - Merced

#10

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#10 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Cruz ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid list. Santa Cruz, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s sociology degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Sociology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Santa Cruz are $28,952, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Sociology at University of California - Santa Cruz

#11

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#2 in overall quality

University of Southern California did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #11. USC is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 doctorate’s sociology degrees to qualified students.

USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Sociology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Sociology at USC

Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Kontos.

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