2024 Best Colleges for Sociology
There are about 128,836 students enrolled in Sociology in the USA.
Menu: summary
popularity
Very Popular
Compared to national avg.
Diplomas received last year
39,237
Vs. National Avg.
148%
popularity Rank
#36
cost
Average
Compared to national avg.
Median degree cost
$27K
Vs. National Avg.
12%
cost Rank
#198
salary
Below Average
Compared to national avg.
Average Salary Two Years Out of School
$41K
Vs. National Avg.
3%
salary Rank
#219
professors
Average
Compared to national avg.
Professor Rating
C+
Vs. National Avg.
5%
professors Rank
#189
students
Below Average
Compared to national avg.
Diversity Rating
B-
Vs. National Avg.
1%
students Rank
#221
SUMMARY
Majoring in Sociology is a valuable choice and naturally a required first step for undergraduates hoping to enter a career as an intern recruiter, a counselor, or a survey researcher. Interestingly, nationally, sociology is a very popular major choice, ranking as the 20th most popular area of study. Last year, there were 29,920 sociology diplomas received. In-state tuition for sociology at private institutions is, on average, 4.1 times more costly than their public rivals.
With a staggering 997 schools offering sociology chances are that any institutions you are interested in will have an option for you. If you're hoping to surround yourself with other sociology students, look at schools in California which have more undergrads admitted to sociology than any other state. More generally, the best region to major in sociology is in the Far West region with California State University-Northridge, University of California-Los Angeles, and University of California-Santa Barbara best representing the region. Interestingly, our selection for the best conference to study sociology is the Big West Conference with California State University-Fullerton, California State University-Northridge, and University of California-Santa Barbara representing the conference. On that topic, our choice for the best college for sociology is Stanford University. You may also want to check out our list of the best colleges.
The objectively best school is not necessarily the best school for every student. There can be a bunch of factors to weigh when choosing institution. Things such as campus amenities, transportation services, and food would impact your choice on where to go to university. At authority.org, we evaluated the pros and cons for you. If, as an example, you are interested in which sociology university is home to the best campus, the answer is Harvard University. If, for example, you are very interested in which school boasts the best campus, then we have an entire list dedicated to that. We have carefully pored through professor reviews, student reviews, government databases, and more to evaluate each major in an unbiased and informative way. You can explore our well researched list for the schools with the best student life here and from that list, our selection of the school with the best student life for sociology is Cornell University. Curious why? Continue scrolling to discover more about our top choices. Many of our picks will probably surprise you.
If expense is a primary deciding factor in your decisions, you might consider avoiding Columbia University in the City of New York. Columbia University in the City of New York is our most expensive university for sociology, at least for out of state students. We do have an entire page for the most expensive colleges that might put the price tag of Columbia University in the City of New York into perspective. Additionally, you could be interested to know that sociology is the 35th most expensive program in the US, with an average associated cost of $51,000. On a broader scale, the most costly state for sociology in the country is District of Columbia with costs at the primary three institutions American University, George Washington University, and Georgetown University of $49,070, $54,453, and $54,453 respectively. Even more broadly, the most expensive region for sociology is the New England region which is best demonstrated with Amherst College with a cost of $57,640, Tufts University with a cost of $57,324, and Brown University with a cost of $57,112.
Our cheapest region for sociology is the Southwest region which is represented by Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus with a cost of $5,994, The University of Texas of the Permian Basin with a cost of $5,767, and West Texas A & M University with a cost of $6,960. In better news, the most affordable university for sociology is SUNY at Albany. Authority.org's full list of the most affordable schools can be explored here.
In-state attendees can anticipate paying in the neighborhood of $9,900 for a degree in sociology. The price swells intensely to a median of $22,500 for the out-of-state public-school undergraduate. Our choice for the college with the best value for sociology: Stanford University. Here you will see our comprehensive list on the colleges we believe to be the best value overall. Do know, this discussion is predicated on being an out-of-state student. The value proposition changes when in-state tuition is considered, as such, we are using out-of-state tuition as the baseline.
Earnings for sociology majors vary widely, but within two-years of graduation students will regularly earn around $35,900. There is much variation in earnings potential; highest paid earners can experience pay up to $75,400. Straight out of college, the lowest earning positions within the sociology field earn $17,100, which is an alright wage. The highest earning grads from sociology attended Stanford University and if you want to find the schools with all of the highest earning graduates, Authority has that too.
The overall diversity of sociology is very near the top, ranking in the 99th percentile of all majors. The university with the most composite diversity for sociology is New York University and here you can find our general list of the schools which have the most diversity. The financial diversity of the Sociology major ranks only within the 42nd percentile compared to all other majors. Racial diversity is actually above financial diversity, in the 99th percentile. White students make up the largest share at 35% of scholars studying sociology. Additionally, 73% of scholars pursuing a sociology degree are women.
The median rating of sociology professors is 4.2 stars, a rating that is 5% above the average for all majors; this is a good score. If you are searching for the most popular sociology instructor in the nation, consider looking up Nicole Youngman at Southeastern Louisiana University. It may come as a surprise, but the highest rated professors of sociology according to students are found at University of Arkansas. If we consider information other than basic rankings it becomes clear that the university with comprehensively the best instructors for sociology is Stanford University. You can find more detail on our ever evolving ranking methodology of the best overall professors here, along with some of the finest instructors nationwide.
Finally, the most difficult college to get into for sociology is Stanford University. While we think of this list more as a novelty, we have an extensive list for the hardest colleges to get into. That being said, we hope you believe that looking at the education process from examples primarily built on superlatives might cause issues. We encourage you to read our more focused pages on different universities and read a few of Authority's background articles on important things to look for as you continue your school search.
Top 25 Best Colleges for Sociology
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#3 2024 Best Colleges for Sociology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA | web.mit.edu/
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#9 2024 Best Colleges for Sociology
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY | www.columbia.edu/
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#11 2024 Best Colleges for Sociology
University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA | https://www.virginia.edu/
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#17 2024 Best Colleges for Sociology
University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA | www.ucla.edu/
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#23 2024 Best Colleges for Sociology
Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO | www.wustl.edu/
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