2023 Best General Social Sciences Schools
Finding the Best General Social Sciences School for You
In 2020-2021, 18,997 people earned a degree or certificate in general social sciences, making the major the #55 most popular in the United States.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best General Social Sciences Schools ranking. This report analyzed 186 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best General Social Sciences Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for social sciences majors pursuing a .
Top 25 Top Schools in General Social Sciences
Our 2023 rankings named Vanderbilt University the best school in the United States for general social sciences students. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
While working on their degree, social sciences majors at Vanderbilt accumulate an average of around $12,917 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $587, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Johns Hopkins University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best General Social Sciences Schools list. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Baltimore.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means The Graduate Center, CUNY is a great place for general social sciences students. Located in the city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
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The excellent programs at University of Washington - Seattle Campus helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best general social sciences schools in the United States. UW Seattle is a very large public school located in the city of Seattle.
On average, social sciences graduates from UW Seattle take out $21,119 in student loans while working on their degree.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Northwestern University is a great place for general social sciences students. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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With a ranking of #6, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best schools for general social sciences students. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Harvard University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general social sciences programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Social Sciences majors at Harvard take out an average of $23,125 in student loans while working on their egree.
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University of Maryland - College Park landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general social sciences programs. UMCP is a very large public school located in the large suburb of College Park.
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Santa Rosa Junior College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general social sciences students. It came in at #9 on the list. SRJC is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Santa Rosa.
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With a ranking of #10, Thomas Edison State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for general social sciences students. Located in the small city of Trenton, TESU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
While working on their degree, social sciences majors at TESU accumulate an average of around $20,995 in student debt.
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Colgate University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best General Social Sciences Schools ranking. Located in the distant town of Hamilton, Colgate is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Washington University in St Louis came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best General Social Sciences Schools ranking. WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.
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New York University ranked #13 on this year’s Best General Social Sciences Schools list. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
After completing their degree, social sciences graduates from NYU carry an average student debtload of $26,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $454, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Denison University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general social sciences programs. Denison is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Granville.
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Emory University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general social sciences students. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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With a ranking of #16, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on this year’s best schools for general social sciences students. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
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Florida Southern College ranked #17 on this year’s Best General Social Sciences Schools list. Florida Southern is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Lakeland.
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University of Wisconsin - River Falls landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general social sciences programs. Located in the distant town of River Falls, UW - River Falls is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best General Social Sciences Schools ranking. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a very large student population.
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With a ranking of #20, Colorado State University - Global Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for general social sciences students. Located in the large city of Greenwood Village, Colorado State University - Global Campus is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that social sciences majors at Colorado State University - Global Campus take out is $35,500.
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College of Saint Benedict came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best General Social Sciences Schools ranking. CSB is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize suburb of Saint Joseph.
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Case Western Reserve University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best General Social Sciences Schools ranking. Case Western is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cleveland.
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Boston College landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general social sciences programs. Boston College is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Chestnut Hill.
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Upper Iowa University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best General Social Sciences Schools ranking. UIU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote area of Fayette.
After completing their degree, social sciences graduates from UIU carry an average student debtload of $24,954.
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With a ranking of #25, University of Wisconsin - Stout did quite well on this year’s best schools for general social sciences students. UW - Stout is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Menomonie.
The average amount in student loans that social sciences majors at UW - Stout take out is $25,000.
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for General Social Sciences students that almost earned our Best General Social Sciences Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | Citadel Military College of South Carolina | Charleston, SC |
| 29 | Hobart and William Smith Colleges | Geneva, NY |
| 30 | Washington State University | Pullman, WA |
| 31 | Purdue University - Main Campus | West Lafayette, IN |
| 32 | Central Washington University | Ellensburg, WA |
| 33 | Rose State College | Midwest City, OK |
| 34 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
| 35 | University of Iowa | Iowa City, IA |
| 36 | University of South Florida - Main Campus | Tampa, FL |
| 37 | Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI |
General Social Sciences by Region
View the Best General Social Sciences Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More General Social Sciences Rankings
General Social Sciences Related Rankings by Major
One of 12 majors within the area of study, general social sciences has other similar majors worth exploring.
Majors Similar to Social Sciences
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Political Science & Government | 49,282 |
| Economics | 49,055 |
| Sociology | 38,475 |
| International Relations & National Security | 14,306 |
| Anthropology | 11,415 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 the rest 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Manfred Werner (Tsui).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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