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2025 Best Social Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region

49 Colleges in the Southwest Region
14,260 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$40,688 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in social sciences is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #5 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 49 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Social Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 14,260 degrees in social sciences to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Social Sciences School

Best Social Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region The social sciences program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Social Sciences rankings. For our Best Overall Social Sciences School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Social Sciences Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Social Sciences
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 the Southwest Region. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Social Sciences in the Southwest Region

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the social sciences degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools in Social Sciences

1
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
239 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$77,554 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in social sciences has to look into Rice University. Located in the city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #48 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Rice is a great university overall.

There were roughly 239 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Rice in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences major at Rice University get $36,866 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Rice University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,098 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$45,727 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in social sciences has to look into Texas A&M University - College Station. Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public university located in the city of College Station. A Best Colleges rank of #42 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.

There were approximately 1098 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the social sciences degree program at Texas A&M University - College Station get $5,038 more than the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Texas A&M University - College Station

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,108 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$48,198 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in social sciences has to take a look at The University of Texas at Austin. UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the city of Austin. A Best Colleges rank of #46 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.

There were about 1108 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year. Those social sciences students who get their degree from The University of Texas at Austin receive $7,510 more than the standard social sciences graduate.

More information about a degree in social sciences from The University of Texas at Austin

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
258 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$66,256 Median Starting Salary

Southern Methodist University is a great choice for students interested in a degree in social sciences. SMU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Dallas. A Best Colleges rank of #142 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SMU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 258 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at SMU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social sciences major at Southern Methodist University make $25,567 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Southern Methodist University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
985 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$45,005 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #108 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.

There were roughly 985 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Arizona State University - Tempe receive an earnings boost of around $4,316 above the typical income of social sciences graduates.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Arizona State University - Tempe

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
638 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$44,817 Median Starting Salary

University of Arizona is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Tucson. A Best Colleges rank of #110 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means University of Arizona is a great university overall.

There were approximately 638 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at University of Arizona in the most recent data year. Those social sciences students who get their degree from University of Arizona receive $4,128 more than the typical social sciences graduate.

More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Arizona

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
237 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$52,773 Median Starting Salary

TCU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Fort Worth. A Best Colleges rank of #112 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means TCU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 237 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at TCU in the most recent year we have data available. Social Sciences degree recipients from Texas Christian University get an earnings boost of around $12,085 over the average earnings of social sciences majors.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Texas Christian University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
449 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$34,628 Median Starting Salary

NAU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Flagstaff. This university ranks 7th out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were roughly 449 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at NAU in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the social sciences program make around $34,628 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Northern Arizona University

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
240 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
3.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Waco, Baylor is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #150 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Baylor is a great university overall.

There were approximately 239.99999999999997 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Baylor in the most recent data year. After graduating, social sciences degree recipients typically make an average of $33,956 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Baylor University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
365 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$38,307 Median Starting Salary

University of Oklahoma is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Norman. A Best Colleges rank of #191 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means University of Oklahoma is a great university overall.

There were approximately 365 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at University of Oklahoma in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the social sciences program earn around $38,307 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

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 Social Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region award.

Rank College Location
11 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
12 Texas State University San Marcos, TX
13 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott Prescott, AZ
14 University of North Texas Denton, TX
15 Arizona State University - Skysong Scottsdale, AZ
16 The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX

Best Social Sciences Colleges by State

Explore the best social sciences colleges for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Arizona 38 3,317
Texas 38 8,778
New Mexico 38 813
Oklahoma 38 1,371

View All Rankings >

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 4,071
Economics 2,794
Sociology 2,754
Anthropology 1,061
Geography & Cartography 1,054
General Social Sciences 833
International Relations & National Security 809
Other Social Sciences 62
Urban Studies 52
Archeology 10

View All Social Sciences Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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