Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

10 Colleges
$22,507 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$62,624 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree School for You

Social Sciences is one of the most popular subjects to study in California. With 2,501 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 10th out of all the majors we track in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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 in California ranking. This report analyzed 10 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value doctor's degree programs for social sciences students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California

Check out the social sciences doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Social Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found University of California - Berkeley to be the best value school for social sciences students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in California. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,160 per year.

UC Berkeley did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Berkeley

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCLA are $13,036 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UCLA also did well on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

Out of the 10 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSB are $13,581 per year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Santa Barbara

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a fairly large student population.

UC Irvine graduate students pay an average of $13,356 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Social Sciences at University of California - Irvine Report

Out of the 10 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the # 5 spot on the list. UCSD is a very large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCSD are $13,564 a year.

Full Social Sciences at University of California - San Diego Report

University of California - Davis 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 #6 on the list. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Davis are $13,608 per year.

Full Social Sciences at University of California - Davis Report

University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree social sciences programs. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Santa Cruz.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Santa Cruz are $13,895 per year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Santa Cruz

University of California - Riverside came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Riverside, UCR is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCR are $13,467 a year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Riverside

#9

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

Stanford graduate students pay an average of $55,011 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Stanford not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list.

Full Social Sciences at Stanford University Report

With a ranking of #10, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at USC are $61,396 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, USC also did well on our Best Social Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Social Sciences at University of Southern California Report

Best Value Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Social Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 147
Oregon 280
Nevada 63
Hawaii 63
Alaska 7

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

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 10 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.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.