2023 Best Sociology Schools
Finding the Best Sociology School for You
Sociology is the #27 most popular major in the country with 38,475 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Sociology Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 623 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Sociology Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for sociology majors pursuing a .
Top 25 Top Schools in Sociology
Our 2023 rankings named Teachers College at Columbia University the best school in the United States for sociology students. Located in the large city of New York, Teachers College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Full Sociology at Teachers College at Columbia University Report
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Claremont McKenna College is a great place for sociology students. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont McKenna is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools list. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
After completing their degree, sociology graduates from Duke carry an average student debtload of $10,000.
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The excellent programs at Williams College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best sociology schools in the United States. Located in the town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Out of the 623 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Rice University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Rice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Houston.
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Princeton University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for sociology students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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Dartmouth College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for sociology students. It came in at #7 on the list. Dartmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the town of Hanover.
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The Graduate Center, CUNY ranked #8 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools list. The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the city of New York.
On average, sociology graduates from The Graduate Center take out $21,780 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Yale University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools list. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.
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Stanford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for sociology students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Vanderbilt University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Sociology Schools ranking. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.
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DePauw University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best sociology programs. DePauw is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Greencastle.
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With a ranking of #13, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s best schools for sociology students. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.
On average, sociology graduates from Northwestern take out $15,195 in student loans while working on their degree.
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University of Notre Dame came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Sociology Schools ranking. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.
While working on their degree, sociology majors at Notre Dame accumulate an average of around $20,943 in student debt.
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Colgate University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best sociology programs. Colgate is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Hamilton.
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University of Pennsylvania came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Sociology Schools ranking. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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Harvard University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best sociology programs. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.
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Pomona College ranked #18 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools list. Pomona is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Claremont.
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Amherst College landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best sociology programs. Located in the suburb of Amherst, Amherst is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Johns Hopkins University landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best sociology programs. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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University of California - Berkeley came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Sociology Schools ranking. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.
While working on their degree, sociology majors at UC Berkeley accumulate an average of around $13,305 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $264, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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With a ranking of #22, Wake Forest University did quite well on this year’s best schools for sociology students. Wake Forest University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Winston-Salem.
While working on their degree, sociology majors at Wake Forest University accumulate an average of around $19,875 in student debt.
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Bates College came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Sociology Schools ranking. Located in the city of Lewiston, Bates is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Barnard College came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Sociology Schools ranking. Located in the city of New York, Barnard is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that sociology majors at Barnard take out is $18,899.
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Bowdoin College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for sociology students. It came in at #25 on the list. Bowdoin is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Brunswick.
Full Sociology at Bowdoin College Report
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Additional Award Winners
This list shows the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Sociology Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 623 different United States sociology schools we analyzed.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Sociology Schools award.
Sociology by Region
View the Best Sociology Schools for a specific region near you.
Region |
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Southeast |
New England |
Rocky Mountains |
Plains States |
Middle Atlantic |
Far Western US |
Southwest |
Great Lakes |
More Sociology Rankings
Sociology Related Rankings by Major
Sociology is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
Related Major | Annual Graduates |
---|---|
Political Science & Government | 49,282 |
Economics | 49,055 |
General Social Sciences | 18,997 |
International Relations & National Security | 14,306 |
Anthropology | 11,415 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 Kontos.
More about our data sources and methodologies.