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2025 Best Social Sciences Schools in Iowa

8 Colleges in Iowa
1,364 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 8 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Social Sciences Schools in Iowa ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,364 degrees in social sciences annually.

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

Choosing a Great Social Sciences School

Best Social Sciences Schools in Iowa 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

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

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Social Sciences Schools in Iowa list to help you make the college decision. 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 Iowa

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.

Top Iowa Schools in Social Sciences

1
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
462 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$41,650 Median Starting Salary

University of Iowa is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in social sciences. Iowa is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Iowa City. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.

There were about 462 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the social sciences program report average early career income of $41,650.

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

2
Grinnell crest
Grinnell College
Grinnell, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
116 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$38,570 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in social sciences has to take a look at Grinnell College. Located in the remote town of Grinnell, Grinnell is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #318 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Grinnell is a great college overall.

There were about 116 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Grinnell in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the social sciences program make an average of $38,570 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Grinnell College

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
198 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
3.0% Growth in Graduates

Iowa State University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in social sciences. Located in the city of Ames, Iowa State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #88 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.

There were about 198 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the social sciences program report average early career income of $38,770.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Iowa State University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
125 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$43,394 Median Starting Salary

University of Northern Iowa is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in social sciences. Located in the city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #270 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.

There were about 125 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social sciences major at University of Northern Iowa make $2,706 more than the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in social sciences from University of Northern Iowa

5
Drake crest
Drake University
Des Moines, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In IA
63 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded

Located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 5th out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were about 63 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Drake in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Drake University

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$46,668 Median Starting Salary

Located in the rural area of Fayette, UIU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 28th out of 37 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were roughly 76 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at UIU in the most recent data year. Social Sciences degree recipients from Upper Iowa University receive an earnings boost of around $5,980 over the typical income of social sciences graduates.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Upper Iowa University

7
Coe crest
Coe College
Cedar Rapids, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
36 Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
19.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Cedar Rapids, Coe is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 22nd out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were about 36 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at Coe in the most recent data year. After graduating, social sciences degree recipients typically make about $42,311 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in social sciences from Coe College

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In IA

William Penn University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the remote town of Oskaloosa. This university ranks 36th out of 37 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 13 social sciences students who graduated with this degree at William Penn University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in social sciences from William Penn University

Best Social Sciences Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Kansas 38 1,051
Minnesota 38 2,726
South Dakota 38 262
Missouri 38 2,116
Nebraska 36 819
North Dakota 35 188

View All Rankings >

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 373
Economics 326
Sociology 244
Anthropology 93
International Relations & National Security 65
Geography & Cartography 39
General Social Sciences 25
Sociology & Anthropology 5
Other Social Sciences 4

View All Social Sciences Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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