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2024 Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools

303 Colleges in the United States
16,693 Master's Degrees
$53,732 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your master's degree in social sciences, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #9 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 303 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 16,693 master's degrees in social sciences to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Social Sciences School for Your Master's Degree

Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools Your choice of social sciences for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

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

More Ways to Rank Social Sciences Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Social Sciences Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Social Sciences in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in social sciences. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Master's in Social Sciences

1
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
218 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in social sciences needs to check out Harvard University. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Harvard University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
946 Annual Graduates

Johns Hopkins University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in social sciences. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Johns Hopkins University

3
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
123 Annual Graduates

Yale University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in social sciences. Yale is a large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Yale University

4
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
75 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in social sciences needs to take a look at Stanford University. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Stanford University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Northwestern University

6
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
136 Annual Graduates

Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Duke University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
421 Annual Graduates

Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Columbia University in the City of New York

8
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
72 Annual Graduates

UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Pennsylvania

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
74 Annual Graduates

Teachers College is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Teachers College at Columbia University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
252 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Southern California

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
317 Annual Graduates

UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Chicago

12
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
437 Annual Graduates

Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Georgetown University

13
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
62 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Rice University

14
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
63 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Princeton University

15
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
353 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Tufts University

16
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
67 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Cornell University

17
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Vanderbilt University

18
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
23 Annual Graduates

Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Notre Dame

19
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
649 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from George Washington University

20
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
81 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of California - Irvine

21
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
140 Annual Graduates

UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of California - Los Angeles

22
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
33 Annual Graduates

Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Providence.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Brown University

23
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
24 Annual Graduates

WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Washington University in St Louis

24
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
327 Annual Graduates

UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Wisconsin - Madison

25
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
49 Annual Graduates

Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Atlanta.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Emory University

Rest of the Top Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools

26
27
Lasell crest
Lasell University
Newton, MA
28
Boston College crest
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
29
30
31
32
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC

33

34
35
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
36
37
38
St. Joe's crest
Saint Joseph's University
Philadelphia, PA
39
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
40
41

42

43
44
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
45
Williams crest
Williams College
Williamstown, MA

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Social Sciences students that almost earned our Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
46 Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX
47 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
48 University of California - Davis Davis, CA
49 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
50 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
51 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL
52 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
53 Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Atlanta, GA
54 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
55 Webster University Saint Louis, MO
56 Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey Monterey, CA
57 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
58 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA
59 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
60 George Mason University Fairfax, VA

Social Sciences by Region

View the Best Social Sciences Master's 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

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Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Economics 4,803
International Relations & National Security 4,426
Political Science & Government 1,936
Sociology 1,298
Geography & Cartography 1,076
Anthropology 941
General Social Sciences 596
Other Social Sciences 378
Urban Studies 351
Demography & Population Studies 51

Related Major Annual Graduates
Theology & Religious Vocations 14,027
Communication & Journalism 10,997
English Language & Literature 7,909
History 3,509
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 3,139
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 2,909
Philosophy & Religious Studies 2,087
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 2,044
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies 1,942

Notes and References

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