College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Sociology Doctor's Degree Schools

106 Colleges in the United States
577 Doctor's Degrees
$72,774 Avg Early-Career Salary
a doctor's degree in sociology is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #45 out of 306 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.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 106 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for sociology students pursuing a doctor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 577 doctor's degrees in sociology to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Sociology School for Your Doctor's Degree

Best Sociology Doctor's Degree Schools Your choice of sociology for getting your doctor'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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for sociology students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Sociology Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The sociology 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 Sociology Doctor's Degree Schools.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Sociology in the United States

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for sociology students seeking a a doctor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

15 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Sociology

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
8 Annual Graduates

University of Pennsylvania is a wonderful decision for individuals interested in a doctor's degree in sociology. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in sociology from University of Pennsylvania

2
9 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in sociology. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.More information about a doctorate in sociology from Northwestern University

3
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
9 Annual Graduates

Yale University is a good option for individuals pursuing a doctor's degree in sociology. Located in the city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in sociology from Yale University

4
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
4 Annual Graduates

Duke University is a wonderful option for students pursuing a doctor's degree in sociology. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in sociology from Duke University

5
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
2 Annual Graduates

Rice is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Houston.More information about a doctorate in sociology from Rice University

6
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
10 Annual Graduates

Princeton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Princeton.More information about a doctorate in sociology from Princeton University

7
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
5 Annual Graduates

Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cambridge.More information about a doctorate in sociology from Harvard University

8
17 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a doctorate in sociology from University of Chicago

9
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
7 Annual Graduates

Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville.More information about a doctorate in sociology from Vanderbilt University

10
5 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in sociology from Columbia University in the City of New York

11
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
10 Annual Graduates

Stanford is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Stanford.More information about a doctorate in sociology from Stanford University

12
5 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a doctorate in sociology from University of Notre Dame

13

UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley.

Sociology doctor's degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley earn a boost of about $10,095 above the typical earnings of sociology majors.

More information about a doctorate in sociology from University of California - Berkeley

14
2 Annual Graduates

USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a doctorate in sociology from University of Southern California

15
10 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in sociology from University of California - Los Angeles

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Sociology Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
16 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
17 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
18 Brown University Providence, RI
19 Teachers College at Columbia University New York, NY
20 New York University New York, NY
21 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
22 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
23 University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA
24 Emory University Atlanta, GA
25 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH

Sociology by Region

View the Best Sociology Doctor'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

View All Rankings >

One of 13 majors within the Social Sciences area of study, Sociology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Sociology Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Sociology 577

Majors Similar to Sociology

Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 1,248
Political Science & Government 654
Anthropology 469
Geography & Cartography 249
Other Social Sciences 108
International Relations & National Security 73
Urban Studies 24
Archeology 14
Demography & Population Studies 9
General Social Sciences 6

Notes and References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options