Majors

Best Colleges for Social Sciences, by Earnings

204 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Social Sciences, about 5,494 degrees a year. Across the 80 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $52,308 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	Vanderbilt University	TN	$103,229	302	5.9%
2	New York University	NY	$91,917	50	7.7%
3	Harvard University	MA	$78,996	189	3.6%
4	Manhattan University	NY	$75,745	6	78.9%
5	University of Washington	WA	$75,301	73	39.1%
6	Campbell University	NC	$71,052	7	87.2%
7	Towson University	MD	$68,242	13	82%
8	Whittier College	CA	$64,736	34	80.8%
9	University of Massachusetts Global	CA	$64,307	2
10	Thomas Edison State University	NJ	$63,772	88
11	California State University-San Marcos	CA	$63,622	39	95.1%
12	Empire State University	NY	$61,925	22
13	Washington State University	WA	$61,617	233	86.6%
14	Southern Oregon University	OR	$61,526	5	88.6%
15	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus	PA	$59,883	41	91.2%
16	Pennsylvania State University	PA	$59,883	1	60.6%
17	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	TX	$59,440	18	94.2%
18	University of Maryland Global Campus	MD	$59,413	168
19	St. Joseph's University-New York	NY	$59,028	14	72.1%
20	Touro University	NY	$58,798	32	60.8%
21	Michigan State University	MI	$58,797	84	84.8%
22	Central Washington University	WA	$58,680	50	90.6%
23	Florida State University	FL	$58,460	219	24.2%
24	Hope International University	CA	$58,263	9	33%
25	University of Utah	UT	$57,708	114	86%
26	Troy University	AL	$57,620	36	96%
27	University of Oregon	OR	$57,532	227	88.3%
28	Upper Iowa University	IA	$57,430	18	96.5%
29	California State University-Monterey Bay	CA	$57,200	109	97.4%
30	Dominican University New York	NY	$56,966	49	63.3%
31	California State University-Sacramento	CA	$56,363	21	94%
32	University at Buffalo	NY	$56,257	141	74.2%
33	University of North Texas	TX	$56,026	20	72.2%
34	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$55,542	19	96.2%
35	California State University-Stanislaus	CA	$55,109	50	98.1%
36	Mercy University	NY	$55,052	87	85.8%
37	University of Pittsburgh	PA	$54,069	5	58.1%
38	Bethel University	MN	$52,907	4	87.8%
39	Portland State University	OR	$52,562	275	90.9%
40	Grand Valley State University	MI	$52,520	45	83%
41	San Diego State University	CA	$52,095	41	36.2%
42	University of North Dakota	ND	$52,063	13	76.9%
43	Western Oregon University	OR	$51,921	15	98.1%
44	Tulane University of Louisiana	LA	$51,290	15	14%
45	Oregon State University	OR	$51,005	15	77.3%
46	California State University-Chico	CA	$50,845	52	92.7%
47	Kansas State University	KS	$50,681	56	81.7%
48	Southern New Hampshire University	NH	$50,491	190	99.5%
49	Radford University	VA	$49,727	20	89.5%
50	Boise State University	ID	$49,683	24	87.2%
51	Bellevue University	NE	$49,304	103
52	The University of Arizona Global Campus	AZ	$48,970	13
53	Jacksonville University	FL	$48,761	14	56.9%
54	Bard College	NY	$48,751	158	52.1%
55	Metropolitan State University	MN	$48,486	23	98.7%
56	University of South Florida	FL	$47,969	112	43.2%
57	University of West Florida	FL	$47,535	27	58.2%
58	California State University-San Bernardino	CA	$47,348	19	93.7%
59	University of Bridgeport	CT	$47,108	1	83%
60	University of Wisconsin-Stout	WI	$47,074	15	87.7%
61	University of Central Florida	FL	$46,388	26	40.1%
62	University of South Carolina Beaufort	SC	$44,888	28	72.5%
63	Chowan University	NC	$44,793	2	68.8%
64	Charleston Southern University	SC	$44,416	16	96.5%
65	North Carolina Central University	NC	$43,859	122	87%
66	Shawnee State University	OH	$43,723	9
67	West Liberty University	WV	$43,532	12	97.3%
68	Southeast Missouri State University	MO	$42,761	14	73.5%
69	Pennsylvania Western University	PA	$42,582	55	94.3%
70	University of Southern California	CA	$42,038	18	9.8%
71	Adelphi University	NY	$41,924	15	65.9%
72	Liberty University	VA	$41,811	17	99%
73	University of Hawaii-West Oahu	HI	$41,536	106	95.3%
74	Bluefield State University	WV	$40,355	10	97.2%
75	Allen University	SC	$38,198	10	72.5%
76	Rogers State University	OK	$36,888	29
77	Belhaven University	MS	$33,423	7	49.8%
78	University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras	PR	$32,433	7	54.6%
79	University of Michigan-Dearborn	MI	$31,967	9	55.6%
80	University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez	PR	$20,952	9	56.5%

124 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Social Sciences graduates?

Vanderbilt University ($103,229), New York University ($91,917), Harvard University ($78,996), Manhattan University ($75,745), University of Washington ($75,301) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Social Sciences majors make?

The median across 80 colleges is $52,308 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $20,952 to $103,229.

Which colleges have the biggest Social Sciences programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Vanderbilt University (302), Portland State University (275), Washington State University (233), University of Oregon (227), Florida State University (219).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Social Sciences, General". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.