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Best Value Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in Massachusetts

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2023 Best Value Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in Massachusetts

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

14 Colleges
$34,581 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$53,732 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Sciences Master's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, social sciences students earned 8,752 degrees and certificates from a Massachusetts school, making the subject the 5th in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in Massachusetts ranking. Our analysis looked at 14 schools in Massachusetts to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for social sciences students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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.

2023 Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts

Check out the social sciences master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools

#1

Lasell University

Newton, MA

Our analysis found Lasell University to be the best value school for social sciences students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Massachusetts. Located in the city of Newton, Lasell is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Lasell are $11,268 a year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Lasell University

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Salem State University is a great value for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Salem State is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Salem.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Salem State are $8,857 a year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Salem State University

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Massachusetts - Lowell helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social sciences schools in Massachusetts. Located in the large suburb of Lowell, UMass Lowell is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UMass Lowell are $15,210 a year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Massachusetts - Lowell

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Massachusetts Amherst helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social sciences schools in Massachusetts. Located in the suburb of Amherst, UMass Amherst is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UMass Amherst are $16,251 a year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Massachusetts Amherst

#5

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

The excellent master’s degree programs at Boston College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social sciences schools in Massachusetts. Boston College is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Chestnut Hill.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Boston College are $32,722 a year.

Boston College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts list.

Full Social Sciences at Boston College Report

#6

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

With a ranking of #6, Harvard University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Harvard are $52,170 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Harvard is ranked #2 for overall quality for social sciences in Massachusetts.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Harvard University

Northeastern University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts list. Northeastern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Northeastern are $26,095 per year.

Northeastern also claimed a spot on our Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Northeastern University

Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network 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 #8 on the list. Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network are $23,510 per year.

Read More…

#9

Tufts University

Medford, MA

Tufts University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social sciences programs. Tufts is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Medford.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Tufts are $55,216 per year.

Tufts also took the #3 spot in our Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts rankings.

Read More…

University of Massachusetts - Boston ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts list. Located in the large city of Boston, UMass Boston is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UMass Boston graduate students pay an average of $18,938 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Massachusetts - Boston

Best Value Social Sciences Colleges in the New England Region

Explore all the Best Value Social Sciences Colleges in the New England Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New Hampshire 1,458
Maine 933
Rhode Island 1,124
Connecticut 2,891
Vermont 769

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 14 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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