2023 Best Value Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Social Sciences Doctor'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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 168 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value doctor's degree programs for social sciences students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Doctorate in Social Sciences
Our analysis found The Graduate Center, CUNY to be the best value school for social sciences students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the city of New York.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at The Graduate Center are $23,640 per year.
The Graduate Center excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Capella University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Capella University are $14,784 per year.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Northern Illinois University is a great value for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public college with a large student population.
NIU graduate students pay an average of $11,390 in tuition and fees each year.
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Out of the 168 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, South Dakota State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. South Dakota State is a fairly large public school located in the remote town of Brookings.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at South Dakota State are $16,917 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, South Dakota State is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Delaware is a great value for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. UD is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Newark.
UD graduate students pay an average of $18,128 in tuition and fees each year.
UD excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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University of Akron Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. University of Akron Main Campus is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Akron.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,936 a year.
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University of South Dakota came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the distant town of Vermillion, USD is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
USD graduate students pay an average of $12,768 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #8, Texas Woman’s University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Denton, TWU is a public college with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at TWU are $15,048 per year.
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Teachers College at Columbia University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of New York, Teachers College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Teachers College are $35,054 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Teachers College also did well on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #10, Texas State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small city of San Marcos, Texas State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Texas State graduate students pay an average of $17,220 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of California - Berkeley ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the city of Berkeley.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Berkeley are $29,262 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UC Berkeley also is in the top 5% of our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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Cornell University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cornell are $30,006 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Cornell is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. IUP is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Indiana.
IUP graduate students pay an average of $18,207 in tuition and fees each year.
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Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree social sciences programs. Located in the town of Bowling Green, BGSU is a public college with a large student population.
BGSU graduate students pay an average of $15,823 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Madison.
UW - Madison graduate students pay an average of $25,501 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Madison also is in the top 15% of our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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With a ranking of #16, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Austin.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UT Austin are $22,944 a year.
UT Austin excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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University of North Texas did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in the city of Denton, UNT is a public college with a very large student population.
UNT graduate students pay an average of $15,600 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #17, University of Nebraska - Lincoln did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Lincoln, UNL is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UNL are $19,541 per year.
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Loyola University Chicago ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Loyola Chicago are $19,894 a year.
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University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UCLA are $28,138 a year.
UCLA also claimed a spot on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
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Colorado School of Mines did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Mines is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Golden.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Mines are $40,844 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Mines is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Virginia are $33,520 per year.
University of Virginia excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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University of North Carolina at Charlotte ranked #23 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UNC Charlotte is a very large public school located in the city of Charlotte.
UNC Charlotte graduate students pay an average of $21,147 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Social Sciences at University of North Carolina at Charlotte Report
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University of South Florida - Main Campus came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. USF Tampa is a very large public school located in the city of Tampa.
USF Tampa graduate students pay an average of $21,126 in tuition and fees each year.
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Texas Tech University landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree social sciences programs. Texas Tech is a very large public school located in the large city of Lubbock.
Texas Tech graduate students pay an average of $17,698 in tuition and fees each year.
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Here are some additional great value schools for Social Sciences students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Yale University | New Haven, CT |
| 27 | Rice University | Houston, TX |
| 28 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA |
| 29 | Cleveland State University | Cleveland, OH |
| 30 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA |
| 31 | University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA |
| 32 | University of Houston | Houston, TX |
| 32 | San Diego State University | San Diego, CA |
| 32 | University of Wyoming | Laramie, WY |
| 32 | Iowa State University | Ames, IA |
| 32 | University of Georgia | Athens, GA |
Social Sciences by Region
View the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor'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
Majors Related to Social Sciences
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.
- 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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