2023 Best Social Sciences Schools
Finding the Best Social Sciences School for You
With 205,984 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, social sciences is the #6 most popular major in the United States.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 Social Sciences Schools ranking. This report analyzed 649 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Social Sciences Schools in the United States
Check out the social sciences programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools in Social Sciences
Our analysis found Claremont McKenna College to be the best school for social sciences students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Located in the large suburb of Claremont, Claremont McKenna is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that social sciences majors at Claremont McKenna take out is $14,000.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Williams College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Schools list. Located in the town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
While working on their degree, social sciences majors at Williams accumulate an average of around $13,246 in student debt.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Teachers College at Columbia University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Social Sciences Schools list. Located in the large city of New York, Teachers College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rice University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Social Sciences Schools list. Rice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Houston.
While working on their degree, social sciences majors at Rice accumulate an average of around $13,000 in student debt.
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The excellent programs at Dartmouth College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best social sciences schools in the United States. Dartmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the town of Hanover.
After completing their degree, social sciences graduates from Dartmouth carry an average student debtload of $15,091. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $626.
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Duke University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social sciences students. It came in at #6 on the list. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.
After completing their degree, social sciences graduates from Duke carry an average student debtload of $11,167.
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The Graduate Center, CUNY did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social sciences students. It came in at #7 on the list. The Graduate Center is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of New York.
After completing their degree, social sciences graduates from The Graduate Center carry an average student debtload of $21,780.
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Vanderbilt University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Schools ranking. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.
On average, social sciences graduates from Vanderbilt take out $11,462 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $595.
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Bowdoin College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social sciences students. It came in at #9 on the list. Bowdoin is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Brunswick.
Social Sciences majors at Bowdoin take out an average of $18,374 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $450.
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With a ranking of #10, Princeton University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social sciences students. Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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Yale University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best social sciences programs. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Haven.
While working on their degree, social sciences majors at Yale accumulate an average of around $15,003 in student debt.
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Johns Hopkins University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Schools ranking. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Social Sciences majors at Johns Hopkins take out an average of $15,411 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Pomona College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Schools list. Pomona is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Claremont.
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University of Notre Dame did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social sciences students. It came in at #14 on the list. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.
While working on their degree, social sciences majors at Notre Dame accumulate an average of around $19,814 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $485, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Colorado School of Mines ranked #15 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Schools list. Mines is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Golden.
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Amherst College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social sciences students. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the suburb of Amherst, Amherst is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Social Sciences majors at Amherst take out an average of $14,527 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Northwestern University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Schools ranking. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.
After completing their degree, social sciences graduates from Northwestern carry an average student debtload of $15,919. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $456, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Stanford University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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Carnegie Mellon University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Schools list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
After completing their degree, social sciences graduates from Carnegie Mellon carry an average student debtload of $23,250.
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Harvard University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social sciences students. It came in at #20 on the list. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.
Social Sciences majors at Harvard take out an average of $15,313 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Cornell University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Schools ranking. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.
While working on their degree, social sciences majors at Cornell accumulate an average of around $14,550 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $640, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Bates College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social sciences students. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the city of Lewiston, Bates is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
On average, social sciences graduates from Bates take out $11,043 in student loans while working on their degree.
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University of Pennsylvania came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Schools ranking. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
On average, social sciences graduates from UPenn take out $13,886 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Washington and Lee University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best social sciences programs. Located in the distant town of Lexington, Washington and Lee is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
While working on their degree, social sciences majors at Washington and Lee accumulate an average of around $23,540 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $709, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Wake Forest University landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best social sciences programs. Wake Forest University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Winston-Salem.
The average amount in student loans that social sciences majors at Wake Forest University take out is $19,955.
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Additional Award Winners
This list represents the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Social Sciences Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 649 different United States social sciences schools we analyzed.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Social Sciences Schools award.
Social Sciences by Region
View the Best 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 Social Sciences Rankings
Social Sciences Related Rankings by Major
Social Sciences Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Political Science & Government | 49,282 |
| Economics | 49,055 |
| Sociology | 38,475 |
| General Social Sciences | 18,997 |
| International Relations & National Security | 14,306 |
| Anthropology | 11,415 |
| Criminology | 11,039 |
| Geography & Cartography | 8,526 |
| Other Social Sciences | 2,414 |
| Urban Studies | 1,507 |
| Sociology & Anthropology | 541 |
| Archeology | 339 |
| Demography & Population Studies | 88 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Social Sciences
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Education | 327,871 |
| Psychology | 195,678 |
| Communication & Journalism | 120,571 |
| Family, Consumer & Human Sciences | 55,820 |
| History | 32,731 |
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 AndrГ© KГјnzelmann.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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