by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 47 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for sociology students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 8,176 bachelor's degrees in sociology during the 2021-2022 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Your choice of sociology for getting your bachelor'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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for sociology students working on their bachelor's degree.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Sociology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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.
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in sociology.
It is difficult to beat University of California - Los Angeles if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in sociology. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the sociology program make an average of $34,121 for their early career.
More information about a bachelor’s in sociology from University of California - Los Angeles
University of California - Berkeley is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in sociology. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
Those sociology students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Berkeley make $5,509 more than the average sociology student.
More information about a bachelor’s in sociology from University of California - Berkeley
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in sociology has to look into Stanford University. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford.More information about a bachelor’s in sociology from Stanford University
University of California - Santa Barbara is a good decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in sociology. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the sociology program report average early career income of $34,372.
More information about a bachelor’s in sociology from University of California - Santa Barbara
Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the sociology program report average early career income of $32,137.
More information about a bachelor’s in sociology from University of California - Davis
UC Irvine is a very large public university located in the large city of Irvine.
Soon after graduating, sociology bachelor's recipients generally make an average of $34,050 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in sociology from University of California - Irvine
UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the city of La Jolla.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the sociology program earn about $36,464 in their early career salary.
More information about a bachelor’s in sociology from University of California - San Diego
UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public university located in the city of Santa Cruz.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the sociology program make an average of $28,495 for their early career.
More information about a bachelor’s in sociology from University of California - Santa Cruz
Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the sociology program make an average of $29,367 for their early career.
More information about a bachelor’s in sociology from University of California - Riverside
USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.
After graduating, sociology bachelor's recipients usually make about $35,580 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in sociology from University of Southern CaliforniaThese are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Sociology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Santa Clara University | Santa Clara, CA |
Explore all the Best Sociology Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Colleges | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 226 | 639 |
| Oregon | 185 | 319 |
| Nevada | 129 | 104 |
| Hawaii | 112 | 93 |
| Alaska | 75 | 5 |
One of 13 majors within the Social Sciences area of study, Sociology has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Sociology | 8,176 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Economics | 6,380 |
| Political Science & Government | 5,725 |
| Anthropology | 1,615 |
| International Relations & National Security | 808 |
| Geography & Cartography | 597 |
| General Social Sciences | 486 |
| Other Social Sciences | 322 |
| Urban Studies | 236 |
| Archeology | 11 |
