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. Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.