2023 Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools
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 Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 204 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular doctor'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.
2023 Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the social sciences doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.
Top 25 Most Popular Schools for a Doctorate in Social Sciences
Our 2023 rankings named University of Chicago the most popular school in the United States for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
About 47% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 53% are male.
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The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at Harvard University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular social sciences schools in the United States. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
Of the 77 students majoring in social sciences at Harvard, 61% are male and 39% are female.
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The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Madison helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular social sciences schools in the United States. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the city of Madison.
About 45% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 55% are male.
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Out of the 204 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 medium-sized city of Berkeley.
Women make up 39% of the social sciences majors at the school.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 53% of the social sciences majors at the school.
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University of California - Los Angeles ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Of the 62 students majoring in social sciences at UCLA, 60% are male and 40% are female.
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Capella University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree social sciences programs. Located in the city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
About 89% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 11% are male.
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University of Maryland - College Park did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public school with a very large student population.
About 37% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 63% are male.
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University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public school with a very large student population.
Women make up 29% of the social sciences majors at the school.
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Columbia University in the City of New York came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
About 47% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 53% are male.
Full Social Sciences at Columbia University in the City of New York Report
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With a ranking of #11, Princeton University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
About 42% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 58% are male.
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Yale University ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.
About 44% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 56% are male.
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The Graduate Center, CUNY did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the city of New York.
Of the 50 students majoring in social sciences at The Graduate Center, 40% are male and 60% are female.
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With a ranking of #14, University of California - Irvine did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Irvine.
Of the 47 students majoring in social sciences at UC Irvine, 49% are male and 51% are female.
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New York University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree social sciences programs. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
About 40% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 60% are male.
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Michigan State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Of the 47 students majoring in social sciences at Michigan State, 49% are male and 51% are female.
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University of Pennsylvania ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
Of the 47 students majoring in social sciences at UPenn, 66% are male and 34% are female.
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Cornell University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.
Of the 47 students majoring in social sciences at Cornell, 47% are male and 53% are female.
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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list. U-M is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.
Women make up 46% of the social sciences majors at the school.
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Northwestern University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
Of the 46 students majoring in social sciences at Northwestern, 74% are male and 26% are female.
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With a ranking of #21, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Ohio State is a very large public school located in the city of Columbus.
Of the 45 students majoring in social sciences at Ohio State, 58% are male and 42% are female.
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With a ranking of #22, Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public college with a very large student population.
Of the 44 students majoring in social sciences at IU Bloomington, 34% are male and 66% are female.
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University of California - Davis came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Davis.
About 41% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 59% are male.
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Duke University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree social sciences programs. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.
About 30% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 70% are male.
Full Social Sciences at Duke University Report
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University of Arizona landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree social sciences programs. Located in the large city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public school with a fairly large student population.
About 44% of the students majoring in social sciences at the school are women while 56% are male.
Full Social Sciences at University of Arizona Report
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Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional popular schools for Social Sciences students that almost earned our Most Popular Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 35 | Texas A&M University - College Station | College Station, TX |
| 35 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD |
| 37 | Georgia State University | Atlanta, GA |
| 37 | Claremont Graduate University | Claremont, CA |
| 39 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA |
| 40 | Brown University | Providence, RI |
| 40 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA |
Social Sciences by Region
View the Most Popular 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 |
Social Sciences Related Majors
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 26 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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