2023 Best Value Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 22,292 social sciences students received their degrees and certificates, making the major the #10 most popular in the country.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 168 schools in the United States to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for social sciences students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
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2023 Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Colleges.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Doctorate in Social Sciences
Our analysis found The Graduate Center, CUNY to be the best value school for social sciences students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Located in the city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at The Graduate Center are $23,640 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, The Graduate Center also is in the top 5% of our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
Read full report on Social Sciences at The Graduate Center, CUNY
The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Capella University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social sciences schools in the United States. Capella University is a very large private for-profit school located in the city of Minneapolis.
Capella University graduate students pay an average of $14,784 in tuition and fees each year.
The excellent doctor’s degree programs at South Dakota State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social sciences schools in the United States. Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public college with a large student population.
South Dakota State graduate students pay an average of $16,917 in tuition and fees each year.
South Dakota State also claimed a spot on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
Full Social Sciences at South Dakota State University Report
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Northern Illinois University is a great value for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at NIU are $11,390 a year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Delaware. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Newark, UD is a public college with a fairly large student population.
UD graduate students pay an average of $18,128 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UD is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
University of Akron Main Campus ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public college with a fairly large student population.
University of Akron Main Campus graduate students pay an average of $11,936 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Akron Main Campus
University of South Dakota ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. USD is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Vermillion.
USD graduate students pay an average of $12,768 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Social Sciences at University of South Dakota
With a ranking of #8, Texas Woman’s University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. TWU is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Denton.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at TWU are $15,048 per year.
Teachers College at Columbia University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree social sciences programs. Teachers College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
Teachers College graduate students pay an average of $35,054 in tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Teachers College also did well on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
University of California - Berkeley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Berkeley are $29,262 per year.
UC Berkeley excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
Full Social Sciences at University of California - Berkeley Report
Texas State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree social sciences programs. Texas State is a very large public school located in the small city of San Marcos.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Texas State are $17,220 a year.
Cornell University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Cornell graduate students pay an average of $30,006 in tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cornell also did well on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the distant town of Indiana, IUP is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at IUP are $18,207 a year.
Full Social Sciences at Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus Report
With a ranking of #14, Bowling Green State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. BGSU is a large public school located in the fringe town of Bowling Green.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at BGSU are $15,823 per year.
Read full report on Social Sciences at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus
University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree social sciences programs. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UW - Madison are $25,501 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - Madison also did well on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a very large student population.
UT Austin graduate students pay an average of $22,944 in tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UT Austin also did well on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
University of North Texas did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. UNT is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Denton.
UNT graduate students pay an average of $15,600 in tuition and fees each year.
University of Nebraska - Lincoln came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UNL is a fairly large public school located in the city of Lincoln.
UNL graduate students pay an average of $19,541 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Loyola University Chicago ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Loyola Chicago are $19,894 per year.
University of California - Los Angeles came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCLA are $28,138 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UCLA is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
Full Social Sciences at University of California - Los Angeles Report
University of Virginia - Main Campus ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Virginia are $33,520 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, University of Virginia is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
Colorado School of Mines came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Golden, Mines is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Mines are $40,844 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Mines is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Charlotte, UNC Charlotte is a public school with a very large student population.
UNC Charlotte graduate students pay an average of $21,147 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Social Sciences at University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of South Florida - Main Campus landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree social sciences programs. Located in the city of Tampa, USF Tampa is a public school with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at USF Tampa are $21,126 a year.
Read full report on Social Sciences at University of South Florida - Main Campus
With a ranking of #25, Texas Tech University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public school with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Texas Tech are $17,698 a year.
Read full report on Social Sciences at Texas Tech University
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great value schools for Social Sciences graduate students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Yale University | New Haven, CT |
| 27 | Rice University | Houston, TX |
| 28 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA |
| 29 | Cleveland State University | Cleveland, OH |
| 30 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA |
| 31 | University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA |
| 32 | University of Wyoming | Laramie, WY |
| 32 | University of Houston | Houston, TX |
| 32 | Iowa State University | Ames, IA |
| 32 | San Diego State University | San Diego, CA |
| 32 | University of Georgia | Athens, GA |
Social Sciences by Region
View the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Social Sciences Rankings
Social Sciences Related Majors for Social Sciences
Social Sciences Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Economics | 6,173 |
| International Relations & National Security | 5,010 |
| Political Science & Government | 2,664 |
| Geography & Cartography | 2,315 |
| Sociology | 1,907 |
| Anthropology | 1,446 |
| Criminology | 936 |
| General Social Sciences | 745 |
| Other Social Sciences | 532 |
| Urban Studies | 432 |
| Archeology | 66 |
| Demography & Population Studies | 66 |
Majors Similar to Social Sciences
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Education | 199,724 |
| Psychology | 42,013 |
| Communication & Journalism | 12,242 |
| Library Science | 5,929 |
| History | 4,391 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to AndrГ© KГјnzelmann.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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