2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California
12
Ranked Colleges
71
Degrees Awarded
$82,868
Avg Salary

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Sociology is the 25th most popular major in the country with 35,816 degrees awarded in 2021-2022. In , sociology graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $31,418 and had an average of $22,369 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 13,805 sociology graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,847 and $17,700 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 71 sociology graduates with average earnings and debt of $76,943 and $148,774 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California” ranking analyzed 12 colleges that offered a degree in sociology. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their sociology program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California”.
Top 12 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Sociology in California
Out of the 12 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Francisco landed the #1 spot on the list. University of California - San Francisco is a small public school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 3 doctorate’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Sociology at UCSF
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California. Stanford University is located in Stanford, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s sociology degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Stanford University Sociology Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Merced. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California. University of California - Merced is a medium-sized school located in Merced, California that handed out 3 doctorate’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Sociology at UC Merced
Out of the 12 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #4 spot on the list. UC Santa Cruz is a public institution located in Santa Cruz, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Sociology at UC Santa Cruz
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California list. University of California - Irvine is a large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 13 doctorate’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Sociology at University of California - Irvine
University of California - Riverside landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California ranking. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school awarded 5 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s sociology students in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full University of California - Riverside Sociology Report
University of California - Berkeley landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California ranking. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 7 doctorate’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Sociology at University of California - Berkeley
University of California - Los Angeles ranked #8 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 11 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s sociology students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
Read more about Sociology at UCLA
University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California ranking, coming in at #9. This large school is located in Santa Barbara, California, and it awarded 8 doctorate’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Sociology at University of California - Santa Barbara
University of California - Davis ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California list. UC Davis is a public institution located in Davis, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Read more about Sociology at UC Davis
University of Southern California did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California ranking, coming in at #11. USC is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 5 doctorate’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Sociology at USC
University of California - San Diego came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sociology Major in California ranking. UCSD is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 4 doctorate’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.
Full UCSD Sociology Report
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Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
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