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2024 Best Social Sciences Schools in Pennsylvania

44 Colleges in Pennsylvania
7,908 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$38,493 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 7,908 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
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
644 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
0.3% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in social sciences needs to look into University of Pennsylvania. UPenn is a very 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 644 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences major at University of Pennsylvania get $14,107 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
99 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$78,188 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Carnegie Mellon University if you want to pursue a degree in social sciences. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly 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 roughly 99 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Carnegie Mellon University get an earnings boost of around $39,695 over the typical earnings of social sciences graduates.

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
135 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
27.4% Growth in Graduates

Swarthmore College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in social sciences. Located in the large 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 135 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Swarthmore in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences major at Swarthmore College make $11,081 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Swarthmore College

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
287 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
16.7% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in social sciences has to check out Lafayette College. Located in the large 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 schools nationwide means Lafayette is a great college overall.

There were roughly 287 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Lafayette in the most recent year we have data available. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Lafayette College make $7,150 more than the average social sciences student.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Lafayette College

5
Bucknell crest
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
281 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$47,048 Median Starting Salary

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 281 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Bucknell in the most recent data year. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Bucknell University earn $8,555 more than the average social sciences student.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Bucknell University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
303 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$46,180 Median Starting Salary

Villanova is a large private not-for-profit university located in the 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 303 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Villanova in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Villanova University receive an earnings boost of about $7,687 above the average income of social sciences graduates.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Villanova University

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

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

There were about 669 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Pitt in the most recent data year. After graduating, social sciences degree recipients usually make around $31,616 in their early careers.

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
86 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$51,019 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large 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 approximately 86 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Haverford in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Haverford College get an earnings boost of about $12,526 over the typical earnings of social sciences graduates.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Haverford College

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
186 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 approximately 186 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at St. Joe's in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the social sciences program earn around $38,630 in their early career salary.

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
194 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
5.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small 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 roughly 194 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Gettysburg in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the social sciences program make about $40,454 for their early career.

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.

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
New Jersey383,582
New York3816,964
Maryland375,195
Delaware33865
District of Columbia334,610

View All Rankings >

Social Sciences Majors to Study

MajorAnnual Graduates
Economics2,191
Political Science & Government2,049
Sociology880
Geography & Cartography665
International Relations & National Security522
Anthropology378
General Social Sciences231
Other Social Sciences170
Urban Studies59
Sociology & Anthropology48

View All Social Sciences Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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