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Best General Social Sciences Schools in California

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2023 Best General Social Sciences Schools in California

26 Colleges
$28,123 Avg Salary
$15,766 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best General Social Sciences School for You

General Social Sciences is the #13 most popular major in California with 9,314 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best General Social Sciences Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 26 schools in California to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best General Social Sciences Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best General Social Sciences Colleges.

Top 10 Best General Social Sciences Schools

#1

Santa Rosa Junior College

Santa Rosa, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Santa Rosa Junior College the best school in California for general social sciences students. SRJC is a large public school located in the midsize city of Santa Rosa.

Full General Social Sciences at Santa Rosa Junior College Report

#2

National University

La Jolla, CA

The excellent programs at National University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best general social sciences schools in California. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of La Jolla.

Full General Social Sciences at National University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best General Social Sciences Schools in California list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

While working on their degree, social sciences majors at USC accumulate an average of around $19,124 in student debt.

Read full report on General Social Sciences at University of Southern California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best General Social Sciences Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that social sciences majors at UC Irvine take out is $17,812.

Read full report on General Social Sciences at University of California - Irvine

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means San Jose State University is a great place for general social sciences students. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.

Read More…

#7

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

Brandman University ranked #7 on this year’s Best General Social Sciences Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Irvine, Brandman is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Social Sciences majors at Brandman take out an average of $34,606 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on General Social Sciences at Brandman University

California State University - San Marcos landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general social sciences programs. CSUSM is a large public school located in the suburb of San Marcos.

While working on their degree, social sciences majors at CSUSM accumulate an average of around $16,650 in student debt.

Read full report on General Social Sciences at California State University - San Marcos

California State University - Monterey Bay landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general social sciences programs. CSUMB is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize suburb of Seaside.

On average, social sciences graduates from CSUMB take out $13,725 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full General Social Sciences at California State University - Monterey Bay Report

California State University - Sacramento ranked #10 on this year’s Best General Social Sciences Schools in California list. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Sacramento.

The average amount in student loans that social sciences majors at Sac State take out is $21,268.

Read full report on General Social Sciences at California State University - Sacramento

Best General Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best General Social Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 518
Oregon 614
Nevada 32
Hawaii 134
Alaska 21

One of 12 majors within the area of study, general social sciences has other similar majors worth exploring.

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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