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Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California

10 Colleges
$62,624 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree School for You

Social Sciences is one of the most popular subjects to study in California. With 51,430 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 4th out of all the majors we track in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in California to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in California for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Stanford University

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great place for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Berkeley

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Southern California is a great place for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Full Social Sciences at University of Southern California Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Social Sciences at University of California - Los Angeles Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of California - Santa Barbara is a great place for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Santa Barbara

University of California - Irvine ranked #6 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Social Sciences at University of California - Irvine Report

With a ranking of #7, University of California - Davis did quite well on this year’s best schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Davis

University of California - San Diego came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. UCSD is a very large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

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University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree social sciences programs. UC Santa Cruz is a large public school located in the city of Santa Cruz.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Santa Cruz

University of California - Riverside came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Riverside, UCR is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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Best Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 3,812
Oregon 2,748
Hawaii 586
Nevada 925
Alaska 90

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

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 10 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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