2025 Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region
63Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
3,052Sociology Degrees Awarded
$34,762Avg Early-Career Salary
Sociology is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #25 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
College Factual looked at 63 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 3,052 degrees in sociology to qualified students.
The sociology program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Sociology rankings. For our Best Overall Sociology 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.
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 Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Sociology in the Great Lakes Region
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the sociology degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
University of Chicago is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in sociology. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were roughly 67 sociology students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year.
Northwestern University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in sociology. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were roughly 48 sociology students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Those sociology students who get their degree from Northwestern University earn $3,640 more than the average sociology grad.
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It is hard to beat University of Notre Dame if you want to pursue a degree in sociology. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.
There were about 54 sociology students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a great decision for students interested in a degree in sociology. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were about 146 sociology students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the sociology program make around $33,832 for their early career.
UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were roughly 119 sociology students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the sociology program make about $35,889 in their early career salary.
Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of East Lansing. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.
There were about 124 sociology students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, sociology degree recipients typically earn an average of $35,055 at the beginning of their careers.
Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.
There were about 104 sociology students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Those sociology students who get their degree from Ohio State University - Main Campus make $3,272 more than the standard sociology grad.
UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 93 sociology students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the sociology program report average early career income of $31,548.
Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #65 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.
There were roughly 141 sociology students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Those sociology students who get their degree from Purdue University - Main Campus earn $2,064 more than the average sociology student.
Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.
There were about 46 sociology students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the sociology program make an average of $30,296 in their early career salary.
Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 91 sociology students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the sociology program earn about $34,435 in the first couple years of working.
Located in the large city of Cleveland, Case Western is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were roughly 37 sociology students who graduated with this degree at Case Western in the most recent year we have data available.
Here are some additional great schools for Sociology students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
The sociology program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Sociology rankings. For our Best Overall Sociology School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
