2023 Best Value Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 10 schools in California 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.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found University of California - Berkeley to be the best value school for social sciences students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in California. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Berkeley are $14,160 a year.
UC Berkeley did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCLA are $13,036 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UCLA also did well on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Full Social Sciences at University of California - Los Angeles Report
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Out of the 10 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSB are $13,581 per year.
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Out of the 10 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Irvine are $13,356 per year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. UCSD is a very large public school located in the city of La Jolla.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSD are $13,564 per year.
Full Social Sciences at University of California - San Diego Report
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University of California - Davis landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree social sciences programs. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Davis are $13,608 per year.
Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Davis
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University of California - Santa Cruz ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. UC Santa Cruz is a large public school located in the small city of Santa Cruz.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Santa Cruz are $13,895 per year.
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University of California - Riverside landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree social sciences programs. Located in the city of Riverside, UCR is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCR are $13,467 a year.
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With a ranking of #9, Stanford University did quite well on this year’s best value schools 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.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Stanford are $55,011 per year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Stanford is ranked #1 for overall quality for social sciences in California.
Full Social Sciences at Stanford University Report
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With a ranking of #10, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
USC graduate students pay an average of $61,396 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, USC also did well on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Southern California
Request InformationBest Value Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Social Sciences Colleges 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 |
More Social Sciences Rankings in California
Social Sciences Related Majors for 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 Related Majors
| 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.
- 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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