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Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region

86 Colleges
$31,085 Avg Salary
$25,610 Avg Student Debt

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.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 86 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Check out the sociology programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 15% Best Sociology Schools

#1

DePauw University

Greencastle, IN

Our 2023 rankings named DePauw University the best school in the Great Lakes Region for sociology students. DePauw is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Greencastle.

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#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

The excellent programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best sociology schools in the Great Lakes Region . Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

The average amount in student loans that sociology majors at Northwestern take out is $15,195.

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#3

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Notre Dame. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.

Sociology majors at Notre Dame take out an average of $20,943 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Sociology at University of Notre Dame Report

#4

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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Out of the 86 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the # 5 spot on the list. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the city of Madison.

While working on their degree, sociology majors at UW - Madison accumulate an average of around $23,250 in student debt.

Read full report on Sociology at University of Wisconsin - Madison

University of Wisconsin - Whitewater landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best sociology programs. Located in the town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public school with a large student population.

After completing their degree, sociology graduates from UW - Whitewater carry an average student debtload of $25,035.

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#7

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best sociology programs. Purdue is a fairly large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.

The average amount in student loans that sociology majors at Purdue take out is $19,500. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $257.

Read full report on Sociology at Purdue University - Main Campus

University of Wisconsin - River Falls landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best sociology programs. UW - River Falls is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of River Falls.

Sociology majors at UW - River Falls take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Sociology at University of Wisconsin - River Falls Report

#9

Kenyon College

Gambier, OH

Kenyon College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the distant town of Gambier, Kenyon is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Sociology at Kenyon College

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. U-M is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.

While working on their degree, sociology majors at U-M accumulate an average of around $15,975 in student debt.

Full Sociology at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Report

#11

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

Marquette University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best sociology programs. Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

On average, sociology graduates from Marquette take out $23,250 in student loans while working on their degree.

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best sociology programs. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

After completing their degree, sociology graduates from UIUC carry an average student debtload of $20,500. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $301.

Read full report on Sociology at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Sociology students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
13 Oberlin College Oberlin, OH
14 Wheaton College Illinois Wheaton, IL
15 University of Dayton Dayton, OH
16 Saint Norbert College De Pere, WI
17 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH

Best Sociology Colleges by State

Explore the best sociology schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 551
Ohio 702
Illinois 841
Indiana 471
Wisconsin 504

Sociology is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.

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.

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