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 college with a small student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Claremont McKenna College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Sociology Schools list. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont McKenna is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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The excellent programs at Duke University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best sociology schools in the United States. 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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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Williams College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools list. Located in the town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Rice University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools 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 remote town of Hanover.
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The Graduate Center, CUNY came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Sociology Schools ranking. 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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With a ranking of #9, Yale University did quite well on this year’s best schools for sociology students. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the 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 large student population.
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Vanderbilt University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools list. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.
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DePauw University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools list. DePauw is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Greencastle.
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Northwestern University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best sociology programs. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small 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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With a ranking of #14, University of Notre Dame did quite well on this year’s best schools for sociology students. 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 ranked #15 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools list. Colgate is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Hamilton.
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University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for sociology students. It came in at #16 on the list. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
Full Sociology at University of Pennsylvania Report
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Harvard University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools list. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
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Pomona College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Sociology Schools ranking. Pomona is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Claremont.
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With a ranking of #19, Amherst College did quite well on this year’s best schools for sociology students. 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 came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Sociology Schools ranking. Located in the large 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 ranked #21 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools list. UC Berkeley is a very 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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Wake Forest University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools list. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized 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.
Full Sociology at Wake Forest University Report
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Bates College landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best sociology programs. Located in the city of Lewiston, Bates is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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With a ranking of #24, Barnard College did quite well on this year’s best schools for sociology students. Located in the city of New York, Barnard is a private not-for-profit college 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 ranked #25 on this year’s Best Sociology Schools list. Bowdoin is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Brunswick.
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Additional Award Winners
This section shows the rest of the schools 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 |
|---|
| 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.
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