Ranked by graduate earnings

Best colleges for Sociology

50 Sociology programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion - from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

Quick answer

For Sociology, University of California-Berkeley (California) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $71,363. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion - not reputation or cost - across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$71,363	$13,000	283	96.6
2	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$73,200	$11,650	58	95.7
3	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$70,555	$9,625	56	95.3
4	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$87,655	$14,000	34	94.1
5	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$69,883	$16,500	64	92.4
6	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$75,267	$13,622	25	92.3
7	Barnard College New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$77,821	$14,899	25	92
8	New York University New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$77,650	$18,875	61	91.9
9	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$64,692	$14,453	696	91.8
10	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$70,121	$18,500	50	90.7
11	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$68,538	$19,239	89	90
12	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	Bachelor's Degree	$81,722	$19,250	31	89.7
13	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$68,053	$17,750	42	89.6
14	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	Bachelor's Degree	$65,974	$18,800	73	88.8
15	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$62,385	$15,000	122	88
16	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$73,771	-	217	88
17	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	Bachelor's Degree	$69,704	$19,800	41	87.6
18	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Bachelor's Degree	$63,419	$18,419	132	87.5
19	California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$62,427	$17,757	188	87.3
20	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$89,947	-	42	86.6
21	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$60,013	$13,500	672	86.4
22	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	Bachelor's Degree	$63,764	$16,375	37	86.3
23	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	Bachelor's Degree	$83,649	-	38	85.8
24	George Washington University Washington, DC	Bachelor's Degree	$78,857	-	40	85.6
25	CUNY York College Jamaica, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$59,899	$10,450	60	85.3
26	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$59,171	$12,600	291	85.2
27	Emory University Atlanta, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$65,354	$20,500	50	85.2
28	University of Georgia Athens, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$61,124	$15,875	83	85.1
29	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	Bachelor's Degree	$60,277	$14,000	85	85.1
30	Tufts University Medford, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$61,719	$15,000	49	85
31	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$64,603	$16,676	21	84.6
32	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$64,797	$19,500	40	84.4
33	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$60,292	$18,181	245	83.9
34	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$77,833	-	23	83.5
35	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$57,965	$10,245	188	83.5
36	CGSU CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY	Doctoral Degree	$84,807	-	16	82.5
37	SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$65,234	$19,500	20	82.4
38	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$63,654	$22,562	209	82.4
39	Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$63,251	$19,000	25	82.3
40	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$58,966	$17,250	139	82.2
41	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$72,217	-	20	82.2
42	Villanova University Villanova, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$81,088	-	16	82.2
43	Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$63,608	$21,950	74	82.2
44	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Doctoral Degree	$103,675	-	11	82
45	Fordham University Bronx, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$71,581	$25,495	64	81.8
46	Rice University Houston, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$68,737	-	25	81.8
47	Shepherd University Shepherdstown, WV	Bachelor's Degree	$63,412	$18,500	19	81.7
48	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	Bachelor's Degree	$58,026	$16,000	216	81.6
49	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Doctoral Degree	$101,699	-	7	81
50	CBC CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$65,606	-	31	80.5

Filter Sociology by state & degree level →

Hidden Gems for Sociology

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Sociology - the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA Strong Sociology outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$62,427	97%	87.3
2	CUNY York College Jamaica, NY Strong Sociology outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$59,899	64%	85.3
3	CGSU CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY Strong Sociology outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$84,807	68%	82.5
4	SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo, NY Strong Sociology outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$65,234	66%	82.4
5	Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA Strong Sociology outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$63,608	91%	82.2
6	Shepherd University Shepherdstown, WV Strong Sociology outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$63,412	97%	81.7
7	Rhode Island College Providence, RI Strong Sociology outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$59,643	92%	79.7
8	Chapman University Orange, CA Strong Sociology outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$62,047	65%	79.6
9	Mission College Santa Clara, CA Strong Sociology outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$64,174	-	79.6
10	Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL Strong Sociology outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$61,429	82%	79.4
11	Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT Strong Sociology outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$67,262	72%	79.2
12	CUNY Queens College Queens, NY Strong Sociology outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$56,550	64%	79

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0-100 within the Sociology field (CIP 45.11) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Sociology programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded - never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Sociology program?+

By our outcome score, University of California-Berkeley (California) ranks #1 for Sociology, with median graduate earnings of $71,363.

How are these Sociology programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0-100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Sociology programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

Keep exploring

Sociology rankings (filterable)All major rankings Browse colleges Tuition-free colleges All Best-Of guides

Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “-” and never estimated. GetInto.College does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.