Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Most Popular Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools

Find Schools Near

2023 Most Popular Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools

1,331 Colleges
$35,065 Avg Salary
$23,480 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Social Sciences Bachelor'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 Most Popular Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 1,331 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular bachelor's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Social Sciences program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for social sciences majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Los Angeles the most popular school in the United States for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

About 60% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 40% are male.

Full Social Sciences at University of California - Los Angeles Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Santa Barbara is a great place for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. UCSB is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Santa Barbara.

Women make up 55% of the social sciences majors at the school.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Santa Barbara

Out of the 1,331 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the # 3 spot on the list. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

Women make up 58% of the social sciences majors at the school.

Read More…

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at University of California - Irvine helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular social sciences schools in the United States. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the city of Irvine.

About 57% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 43% are male.

Read More…

#5

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL

Out of the 1,331 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Florida State University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 1,558 students majoring in social sciences at Florida State, 51% are male and 49% are female.

Read More…

With a ranking of #6, University of California - Davis did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. UC Davis is a very large public school located in the suburb of Davis.

Women make up 57% of the social sciences majors at the school.

Full Social Sciences at University of California - Davis Report

University of California - Riverside did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social sciences students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. UCR is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Riverside.

Women make up 58% of the social sciences majors at the school.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Riverside

University of Maryland - College Park landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree social sciences programs. Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public college with a very large student population.

Women make up 52% of the social sciences majors at the school.

Full Social Sciences at University of Maryland - College Park Report

University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social sciences students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 53% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 47% are male.

Read More…

With a ranking of #10, University of California - San Diego did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 54% of the social sciences majors at the school.

Read More…

University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the city of Madison.

Women make up 45% of the social sciences majors at the school.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Madison

University of South Florida - Main Campus ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. USF Tampa is a very large public school located in the large city of Tampa.

Women make up 57% of the social sciences majors at the school.

Full Social Sciences at University of South Florida - Main Campus Report

#13

George Washington University

Washington, DC

George Washington University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 1,159 students majoring in social sciences at GWU, 40% are male and 60% are female.

Read full report on Social Sciences at George Washington University

With a ranking of #14, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. Ohio State is a very large public school located in the large city of Columbus.

About 45% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 55% are male.

Read More…

#15

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

University of Florida came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. UF is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Gainesville.

About 57% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 43% are male.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Florida

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree social sciences programs. U-M is a fairly large public school located in the city of Ann Arbor.

Of the 1,081 students majoring in social sciences at U-M, 53% are male and 47% are female.

Read More…

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree social sciences programs. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 1,073 students majoring in social sciences at UMN Twin Cities, 45% are male and 55% are female.

Read More…

#18

University of Oregon

Eugene, OR

University of Oregon did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social sciences students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the city of Eugene, UO is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 973 students majoring in social sciences at UO, 55% are male and 45% are female.

Read More…

The University of Texas at Austin landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree social sciences programs. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Austin.

Women make up 42% of the social sciences majors at the school.

Full Social Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin Report

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree social sciences programs. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the city of Chapel Hill.

Of the 957 students majoring in social sciences at UNC Chapel Hill, 49% are male and 51% are female.

Read More…

#21

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

With a ranking of #21, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 47% of the social sciences majors at the school.

Read More…

#22

New York University

New York, NY

New York University ranked #22 on this year’s Most Popular Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

About 54% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 46% are male.

Read More…

California State University - Northridge did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social sciences students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public school with a very large student population.

Women make up 63% of the social sciences majors at the school.

Full Social Sciences at California State University - Northridge Report

With a ranking of #24, Florida International University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Miami, FIU is a public college with a very large student population.

Of the 891 students majoring in social sciences at FIU, 45% are male and 55% are female.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Florida International University

#25

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

With a ranking of #25, Michigan State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public school with a very large student population.

About 43% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 57% are male.

Full Social Sciences at Michigan State University Report

#28

University at Buffalo

Buffalo, NY
#32

Queens College

Queens, NY
#36

American University

Washington, DC
#39

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, UT
#39

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
#41

Boston University

Boston, MA
#42

Georgetown University

Washington, DC
#43

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL
#45

University of Georgia

Athens, GA
#47

University at Albany

Albany, NY
#48

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA
#50

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

Additional Award Winners

This section represents the remainder of the colleges awarded a Most Popular Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 1331 different United States social sciences schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
52 University of Central Florida Orlando, FL
53 Arizona State University - Skysong Scottsdale, AZ
54 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
55 California State University - Fresno Fresno, CA
56 Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY
57 Binghamton University Vestal, NY
58 Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
59 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
60 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
61 Portland State University Portland, OR
62 Northwestern University Evanston, IL
63 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
64 Utah State University Logan, UT
65 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
66 Hunter College New York, NY
67 University of Delaware Newark, DE
68 California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
69 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
70 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
70 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ
72 Georgia State University Atlanta, GA
73 University of Houston Houston, TX
74 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
75 Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO
76 California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Pomona, CA
77 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
78 University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN
79 Tufts University Medford, MA
79 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
81 Harvard University Cambridge, MA
82 University of Nevada - Reno Reno, NV
83 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
84 Fordham University Bronx, NY
85 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
86 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
87 Towson University Towson, MD
88 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
88 Dartmouth College Hanover, NH
90 John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY
91 California State University - Chico Chico, CA
92 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
93 Texas State University San Marcos, TX
94 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC
95 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA
96 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
97 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
97 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL
99 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
100 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN
101 Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA
101 California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA
101 Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
104 Northeastern University Boston, MA
105 Lehman College Bronx, NY
106 Clemson University Clemson, SC
106 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
108 Emory University Atlanta, GA
109 Oregon State University Corvallis, OR
110 California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA
111 California State University - Dominguez Hills Carson, CA
112 Brown University Providence, RI
113 Yale University New Haven, CT
114 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
115 University of North Texas Denton, TX
115 The City College of New York New York, NY
117 University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Norman, OK
117 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
119 Duke University Durham, NC
120 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
121 Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH
121 Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO
123 University of Massachusetts - Boston Boston, MA
124 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
125 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
126 University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO
127 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
128 University of New Hampshire - Main Campus Durham, NH
129 University of New Mexico - Main Campus Albuquerque, NM
130 University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI
130 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
132 Villanova University Villanova, PA
133 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
133 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
135 University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD
136 The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX
137 United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD
138 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
139 Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA
139 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
141 University of Denver Denver, CO
142 California State University - Stanislaus Turlock, CA
143 College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA
144 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC
144 Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus Indiana, PA
146 University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC
147 Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA
148 Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH
149 Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA
150 Colgate University Hamilton, NY
151 Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY
152 Brandeis University Waltham, MA
152 Wesleyan University Middletown, CT
154 University of West Georgia Carrollton, GA
155 Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX
156 University of Vermont Burlington, VT
157 Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA
157 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
159 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
160 University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI
161 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
162 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
162 California State University - Channel Islands Camarillo, CA
164 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
165 Appalachian State University Boone, NC
166 University of Maryland - Baltimore County Baltimore, MD
166 West Virginia University Morgantown, WV
168 Kansas State University Manhattan, KS
169 Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
170 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
171 Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA
171 Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA
173 Lafayette College Easton, PA
174 Stockton University Galloway, NJ
175 University of North Carolina at Wilmington Wilmington, NC
175 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
177 The University of Tampa Tampa, FL
178 DePaul University Chicago, IL
178 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
178 East Carolina University Greenville, NC
178 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
182 Frostburg State University Frostburg, MD
183 Ohio University - Athens Campus Athens, OH
184 Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT
184 University of California - Merced Merced, CA
186 Missouri State University - Springfield Springfield, MO
187 Baylor University Waco, TX
188 SUNY New Paltz New Paltz, NY
189 Stanford University Stanford, CA
190 United States Military Academy West Point, NY
190 Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME
192 Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI
192 Liberty University Lynchburg, VA
194 St Lawrence University Canton, NY
195 SUNY Geneseo Geneseo, NY
195 Montclair State University Montclair, NJ
197 Fort Hays State University Hays, KS
197 University of San Diego San Diego, CA
199 College of Charleston Charleston, SC

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
200 Illinois State University Normal, IL
201 University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO
202 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI
203 California State University - Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA
204 Trinity College Hartford, CT
205 Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI
206 The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX
207 Rice University Houston, TX
207 The University of Arizona Global Campus San Diego, CA
207 Davidson College Davidson, NC
210 Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH
211 Barnard College New York, NY
212 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI
212 Gonzaga University Spokane, WA
212 University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL
215 Clark University Worcester, MA
215 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
217 Indiana State University Terre Haute, IN
217 SUNY Cortland Cortland, NY
217 Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY
220 Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA
221 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX
221 Wellesley College Wellesley, MA
223 Wayne State University Detroit, MI
224 Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS
225 Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA
226 Colby College Waterville, ME
226 Humboldt State University Arcata, CA
228 Boise State University Boise, ID
228 Auburn University Auburn, AL
228 Baruch College New York, NY
231 Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL
232 University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln, NE
233 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI
233 Thomas Edison State University Trenton, NJ
233 Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA
233 Howard University Washington, DC
233 University of Mississippi University, MS
233 University of Wisconsin - La Crosse La Crosse, WI
233 College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY
240 University of Missouri - St Louis Saint Louis, MO
240 Texas A&M University - San Antonio San Antonio, TX
242 American Public University System Charles Town, WV
242 Hamilton College Clinton, NY
244 Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA
244 Providence College Providence, RI
246 Iowa State University Ames, IA
247 University of Idaho Moscow, ID
248 St Olaf College Northfield, MN
249 University of Southern Maine Portland, ME
250 University of Louisville Louisville, KY
251 Dickinson College Carlisle, PA
252 United States Air Force Academy USAF Academy, CO
253 University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA
253 University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR
253 Williams College Williamstown, MA
253 SUNY Old Westbury Old Westbury, NY
253 Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA
258 University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, NC
258 University of Wyoming Laramie, WY
260 Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
261 Bates College Lewiston, ME
261 Wilmington University New Castle, DE
263 University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA
264 Smith College Northampton, MA
264 University of Minnesota - Duluth Duluth, MN
266 Denison University Granville, OH
266 University of Maine Orono, ME
266 Montana State University Bozeman, MT

Social Sciences by Region

View the Most Popular Social Sciences Bachelor'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

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.

  • 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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.