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2025 Best Social Sciences Schools in Massachusetts

28 Colleges in Massachusetts
8,676 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$40,688 Avg Early-Career Salary
Social Sciences is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #5 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 28 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Social Sciences Schools in Massachusetts ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 8,676 degrees in social sciences to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Social Sciences School

Best Social Sciences Schools in Massachusetts Your choice of social sciences school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Social Sciences School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Social Sciences Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Social Sciences
Master's Degrees in Social Sciences
Doctor's Degrees in Social Sciences

The social sciences school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Social Sciences Schools in Massachusetts. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Social Sciences in Massachusetts

The schools below may not offer all types of social sciences degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Massachusetts Schools in Social Sciences

1
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,007 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
13.5% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in social sciences has to check out Harvard University. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cambridge. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.

There were approximately 1007 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social sciences degree program at Harvard University get $38,152 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Harvard University

2
Boston College crest
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
668 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$62,367 Median Starting Salary

Boston College is a good option for students pursuing a degree in social sciences. Boston College is a fairly large private not-for-profit college located in the small city of Chestnut Hill. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Boston College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 668 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Boston College in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Boston College earn a boost of approximately $21,678 above the typical income of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Boston College

3
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
791 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$68,176 Median Starting Salary

Tufts University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in social sciences. Tufts is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Medford. A Best Colleges rank of #39 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Tufts is a great university overall.

There were roughly 790.9999999999999 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Tufts in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Tufts University receive an earnings boost of approximately $27,488 over the average income of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Tufts University

4
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,123 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
5.3% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in social sciences needs to check out Boston University. Boston U is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Boston U is a great university overall.

There were approximately 1123 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Boston University earn a boost of about $7,449 above the average earnings of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Boston University

5
Williams crest
Williams College
Williamstown, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
220 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
29.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the fringe town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #90 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Williams is a great college overall.

There were roughly 220 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Williams in the most recent year we have data available. Those social sciences students who get their degree from Williams College receive $29,750 more than the average social sciences grad.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Williams College

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
473 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$60,579 Median Starting Salary

Northeastern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston. A Best Colleges rank of #33 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northeastern is a great university overall.

There were approximately 473.00000000000006 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Northeastern in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences major at Northeastern University earn $19,890 more than the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Northeastern University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
853 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$45,667 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Amherst, UMass Amherst is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #60 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UMass Amherst is a great university overall.

There were about 853 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UMass Amherst in the most recent data year. Those social sciences students who get their degree from University of Massachusetts Amherst earn $4,979 more than the typical social sciences student.

More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Massachusetts Amherst

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
277 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$55,478 Median Starting Salary

Holy Cross is a small private not-for-profit college located in the medium-sized city of Worcester. A Best Colleges rank of #59 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Holy Cross is a great college overall.

There were roughly 277 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Holy Cross in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from College of the Holy Cross get an earnings boost of around $14,790 over the typical income of social sciences graduates.

More information about a degree in social sciences from College of the Holy Cross

9
Amherst crest
Amherst College
Amherst, MA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
170 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
32.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small city of Amherst, Amherst is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #72 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Amherst is a great college overall.

There were roughly 170 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Amherst in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences degree program at Amherst College earn $35,158 above the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Amherst College

10
Wellesley crest
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
182 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$74,316 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Wellesley, Wellesley is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #94 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Wellesley is a great college overall.

There were about 182 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Wellesley in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences program at Wellesley College get $33,628 above the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Wellesley College

Best Social Sciences Colleges in the New England Region

Explore all the Best Social Sciences Schools in the New England Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New Hampshire 37 1,429
Maine 37 923
Rhode Island 37 1,107
Connecticut 35 2,872
Vermont 34 769

View All Rankings >

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Economics 3,307
Political Science & Government 1,951
International Relations & National Security 1,112
Sociology 999
Anthropology 301
General Social Sciences 285
Other Social Sciences 177
Geography & Cartography 142
Urban Studies 56
Archeology 24

View All Social Sciences Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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