2023 Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools
Finding the Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 147 schools in the United States to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for social sciences majors pursuing a graduate certificate.
Top 15% Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools
Our 2023 rankings named The Graduate Center, CUNY the best school in the United States for social sciences students working on their graduate certificate. The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of New York.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Harvard University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.
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The excellent graduate certificate programs at Johns Hopkins University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best social sciences schools in the United States. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Out of the 147 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Colorado School of Mines landed the # 5 spot on the list. Mines is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Golden.
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University of Pennsylvania ranked #6 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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University of Maryland - College Park ranked #7 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public college with a very large student population.
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Tufts University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Texas A&M University - College Station ranked #9 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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University of Kentucky came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the city of Lexington, UK is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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North Carolina State University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate social sciences programs. NC State is a very large public school located in the large city of Raleigh.
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Saint Joseph’s University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. St. Joe's is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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Institute of World Politics came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Washington, Institute of World Politics is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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With a ranking of #14, Washington University in St Louis did quite well on this year’s best schools for social sciences students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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George Washington University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate social sciences programs. Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Full Social Sciences at Columbia University in the City of New York Report
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With a ranking of #17, Creighton University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social sciences students working on their graduate certificate. Creighton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Omaha.
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University of Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #19, Emory University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social sciences students working on their graduate certificate. Emory is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Atlanta.
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University of North Dakota ranked #20 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. UND is a large public school located in the city of Grand Forks.
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With a ranking of #21, William & Mary did quite well on this year’s best schools for social sciences students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the small suburb of Williamsburg, William & Mary is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
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University of Southern California ranked #22 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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Here are some additional great schools for Social Sciences students that almost earned our Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | Elmhurst University | Elmhurst, IL |
| 24 | Villanova University | Villanova, PA |
| 25 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA |
| 26 | Webster University | Saint Louis, MO |
| 27 | Northwest Missouri State University | Maryville, MO |
| 28 | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, OH |
| 29 | University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE |
Social Sciences by Region
View the Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate 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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