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2023 Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools

147 Colleges
$51,829 Avg Salary

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.

Read full report on Social Sciences at The Graduate Center, CUNY

#2

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Harvard University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Harvard University

#3

Duke University

Durham, NC

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 large city of Durham.

Full Social Sciences at Duke University Report

#4

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Johns Hopkins University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Social Sciences at Johns Hopkins University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado School of Mines. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. Mines is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Golden.

Full Social Sciences at Colorado School of Mines Report

#6

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

With a ranking of #6, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best schools for social sciences students working on their graduate certificate. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

Full Social Sciences at University of Pennsylvania Report

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.

Full Social Sciences at University of Maryland - College Park Report

#8

Tufts University

Medford, MA

Tufts University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate social sciences programs. Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Tufts University

Texas A&M University - College Station 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 #9 on the list. Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Texas A&M University - College Station

#10

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

University of Kentucky came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Lexington, UK is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Social Sciences at University of Kentucky Report

North Carolina State University 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 #11 on the list. NC State is a very large public school located in the large city of Raleigh.

Read full report on Social Sciences at North Carolina State University

#12

Saint Joseph's University

Philadelphia, PA

With a ranking of #12, Saint Joseph’s University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social sciences students working on their graduate certificate. St. Joe's is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

Full Social Sciences at Saint Joseph’s University Report

#13

Institute of World Politics

Washington, DC

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.

Full Social Sciences at Institute of World Politics Report

Washington University in St Louis landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate social sciences programs. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Washington University in St Louis

#15

George Washington University

Washington, DC

George Washington University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Social Sciences at George Washington University Report

Columbia University in the City of New York came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Columbia University in the City of New York

#17

Creighton University

Omaha, NE

Creighton University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Creighton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Omaha.

Read More…

#18

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

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 college with a fairly large student population.

Full Social Sciences at University of Chicago Report

#19

Emory University

Atlanta, GA

Emory University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools list. Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Atlanta.

Read More…

#20

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND

University of North Dakota 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 #20 on the list. UND is a large public school located in the small city of Grand Forks.

Read More…

#21

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA

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 school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Social Sciences at William & Mary

University of Southern California landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate social sciences programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Read More…

Honorable Mentions

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

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 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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