2024 Best General Social Sciences Associate Degree Schools

Ranked #12 in popularity, general social sciences is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual looked at 20 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best General Social Sciences Associate Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 11,791 associate degrees in general social sciences during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great General Social Sciences School for Your Associate Degree

The social sciences associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality social sciences program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to general social sciences students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of general social sciences students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt general social sciences students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized general social sciences related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for general social sciences students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best General Social Sciences Associate Degree Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study General Social Sciences in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in general social sciences.

10 Top Schools for an Associate in Social Sciences

1

Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa, CA

461 Annual Graduates

$39,125 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat Santa Rosa Junior College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in general social sciences. SRJC is a large public college located in the midsize city of Santa Rosa.

Those general social sciences students who get their associate degree from Santa Rosa Junior College earn $14,749 more than the typical social sciences grad.

More information about a associate in general social sciences from Santa Rosa Junior College

2

Northern Virginia Community College
Annandale, VA

507 Annual Graduates

$22,609 Median Starting Salary

$10,500 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in an associate degree in general social sciences needs to take a look at Northern Virginia Community College. Located in the suburb of Annandale, Northern Virginia Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their associate from the social sciences program report average early career income of $22,609.

More information about a associate in general social sciences from Northern Virginia Community College

3

Boise State University
Boise, ID

4 Annual Graduates

Boise State University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in general social sciences. Located in the midsize city of Boise, Boise State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a associate in general social sciences from Boise State University

4

Rose State College
Midwest City, OK

7 Annual Graduates

Rose State College is a good option for students interested in an associate degree in general social sciences. RSC is a moderately-sized public college located in the large suburb of Midwest City.More information about a associate in general social sciences from Rose State College

5

American River College
Sacramento, CA

451 Annual Graduates

$24,748 Median Starting Salary

American River is a very large public college located in the large suburb of Sacramento.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the social sciences program earn about $24,748 for their early career.

More information about a associate in general social sciences from American River College

6

Butte College
Oroville, CA

372 Annual Graduates

$24,627 Median Starting Salary

$9,036 Median Student Debt

Located in the rural area of Oroville, Butte College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their associate from the social sciences program report average early career wages of $24,627.

More information about a associate in general social sciences from Butte College

7

University of Southern Indiana
Evansville, IN

3 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize suburb of Evansville, USI is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a associate in general social sciences from University of Southern Indiana

8

East Los Angeles College
Monterey Park, CA

1,106 Annual Graduates

$24,257 Median Starting Salary

$5,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the suburb of Monterey Park, East Los Angeles College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their associate from the social sciences program state that they receive average early career wages of $24,257.

More information about a associate in general social sciences from East Los Angeles College

9

Tulsa Community College
Tulsa, OK

242 Annual Graduates

$25,589 Median Starting Salary

$12,625 Median Student Debt

Tulsa Community College is a large public college located in the large city of Tulsa.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the social sciences program make about $25,589 in their early career salary.

More information about a associate in general social sciences from Tulsa Community College

10

Rogers State University
Claremore, OK

46 Annual Graduates

Located in the fringe town of Claremore, RSU is a public university with a small student population.More information about a associate in general social sciences from Rogers State University

General Social Sciences by Region

View the Best General Social Sciences Associate Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

General Social Sciences Related Rankings by Major

General Social Sciences is one of 13 different types of Social Sciences programs to choose from.

Social Sciences Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
General Social Sciences	11,791

Majors Similar to Social Sciences

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Sociology	6,887
Economics	3,446
Political Science & Government	2,446
Anthropology	950
Geography & Cartography	379
Other Social Sciences	106
International Relations & National Security	35
Urban Studies	11
Archeology	9

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 Manfred Werner (Tsui). More about our data sources and methodologies.