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2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Sciences in the Southwest Region

21 Ranked Colleges
307 Degrees Awarded
$54,696 Avg Salary
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region” ranking.

Social Sciences is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 5th of all the majors we analyze. In 2021-2022, 197,356 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In , social sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $36,428 and had an average of $22,588 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southwest region, there were 14,260 social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,797 and $22,345 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 307 social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,912 and $102,180 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region” ranking analyzed 21 colleges that offered a degree in social sciences. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their social sciences program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region doctor’s degree social sciences students.

Top 21 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Sciences in the Southwest Region

1
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, Texas

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rice University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. Rice University is a medium-sized school located in Houston, Texas that handed out 24 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Social Sciences at Rice

2
University of Arizona crest
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona

Out of the 21 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Tucson, Arizona, and it awarded 38 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Sciences at University of Arizona

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. This large school is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and it awarded 26 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Sciences at UNM

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Dallas. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region. This small school is located in Irving, Texas, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Sciences at University of Dallas

5

Out of the 21 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Dallas landed the #5 spot on the list. The University of Texas at Dallas is a large school located in Richardson, Texas that handed out 8 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UT Dallas Social Sciences Report

6

The University of Texas at Austin landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking. The University of Texas at Austin is a public institution located in Austin, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 55 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UT Austin Social Sciences Report

7

University of Oklahoma Norman Campus landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in Norman, Oklahoma, this large public school awarded 17 degrees to qualified doctorate’s social sciences students in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Social Sciences Report

8
University of Tulsa crest
University of Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma

With a ranking of #8, University of Tulsa did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. University of Tulsa is a small school located in Tulsa, Oklahoma that handed out 54 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Tulsa

9

Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #9. Texas A&M University - College Station is a public institution located in College Station, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 31 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Texas A&M University - College Station Social Sciences Report

10

With a ranking of #10, Southern Methodist University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. This fairly large school is located in Dallas, Texas, and it awarded 8 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Southern Methodist University

11

The University of Texas at San Antonio ranked #11 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. This large school is located in San Antonio, Texas, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Sciences at UTSA

12
UH crest
University of Houston
Houston, Texas

University of Houston did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #12. University of Houston is a large school located in Houston, Texas that handed out 11 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Houston

13

University of North Texas did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #13. University of North Texas is a large public school situated in Denton, Texas. It awarded 11 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Sciences at University of North Texas

14

Arizona State University - Tempe ranked #14 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. Tempe, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s social sciences degrees to 30 students in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Social Sciences at ASU - Tempe

15
Texas State crest
Texas State University
San Marcos, Texas

With a ranking of #15, Texas State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. Texas State University is a large school located in San Marcos, Texas that handed out 5 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Texas State

16

Texas Woman’s University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking. TWU is located in Denton, Texas and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 8 doctorate’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Texas Woman’s University

17
Texas Tech crest
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas

With a ranking of #17, Texas Tech University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. Texas Tech University is a public institution located in Lubbock, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full Texas Tech Social Sciences Report

18
NAU crest
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, Arizona

With a ranking of #18, Northern Arizona University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. This large school is located in Flagstaff, Arizona, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full NAU Social Sciences Report

19

With a ranking of #19, Baylor University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. This large school is located in Waco, Texas, and it awarded 9 doctorate’s social sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Baylor University

20

With a ranking of #20, Oklahoma State University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. Oklahoma State University - Main Campus is a public institution located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Social Sciences at OSU

21

New Mexico State University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #21. NMSU Main Campus is located in Las Cruces, New Mexico and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 3 doctorate’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at NMSU Main Campus

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