2023 Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Social Sciences Master's Degree 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 Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 339 schools in the United States to see which master's degree 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 Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the social sciences master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Social Sciences
Our analysis found Teachers College at Columbia University to be the best school for social sciences students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Located in the city of New York, Teachers College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Rice University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools list. Rice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Houston.
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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 Master’s Degree Schools list. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at The Graduate Center, CUNY helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best social sciences schools in the United States. The Graduate Center is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of New York.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Johns Hopkins University is a great place for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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Princeton University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social sciences programs. Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
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With a ranking of #7, Stanford University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Yale University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social sciences programs. Yale is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Haven.
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Colorado School of Mines came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Mines is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Golden.
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With a ranking of #10, Vanderbilt University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.
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Harvard University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools list. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.
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University of Notre Dame landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social sciences programs. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.
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Northwestern University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
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Carnegie Mellon University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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With a ranking of #15, Cornell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca.
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Brown University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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With a ranking of #17, Tufts University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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University of Pennsylvania landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social sciences programs. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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Georgetown University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Institute of World Politics did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the large city of Washington, Institute of World Politics is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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University of California - Irvine landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social sciences programs. UC Irvine is a very large public school located in the large city of Irvine.
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University of California - Berkeley came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social sciences programs. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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William & Mary came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the small suburb of Williamsburg, William & Mary is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
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Washington University in St Louis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #24 on the list. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Social Sciences students that almost earned our Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Monmouth University | West Long Branch, NJ |
| 52 | The University of Arizona Global Campus | San Diego, CA |
| 53 | Catholic University of America | Washington, DC |
| 54 | Marquette University | Milwaukee, WI |
| 55 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Champaign, IL |
| 56 | Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus | Atlanta, GA |
| 57 | North Dakota State University - Main Campus | Fargo, ND |
| 58 | James Madison University | Harrisonburg, VA |
| 59 | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, OH |
| 60 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
| 61 | University of Delaware | Newark, DE |
| 62 | Valdosta State University | Valdosta, GA |
| 63 | University of Chicago | Chicago, IL |
| 64 | Purdue University - Main Campus | West Lafayette, IN |
| 65 | Angelo State University | San Angelo, TX |
| 66 | Creighton University | Omaha, NE |
| 67 | University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA |
Social Sciences by Region
View the Best Social Sciences Master's Degree 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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