ADBLOCK #102
College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2026 Best General Social Sciences Schools in Illinois

3 Colleges in the United States
786 General Social Sciences Degrees Awarded
$50,018 Avg Early-Career Salary

General Social Sciences degree programs prepare students for a range of careers in the field. The schools below stand out for the quality of their general social sciences programs.

To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 15 schools to find the best for general social sciences students.

What’s on this page:

ADBLOCK #159
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/general-social-sciences/offers.json", major_slug = ""
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/general-social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/general-social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/general-social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/general-social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/general-social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/general-social-sciences/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = ""
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 11
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 45.01), keeping min_relevance at 0.8
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.8, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "Sociology (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Sociology (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "BA in Sociology" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "BA in Sociology" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Science & Engineering Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Science & Engineering Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Science & Engineering Diploma Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Science & Engineering Diploma Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "BSW - Social Work (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "BSW - Social Work (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "DSW - Social Work (I Have a Masters)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "DSW - Social Work (I Have a Masters)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MSW - Social Work (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "MSW - Social Work (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "PhD - Social Work (I Have a Masters)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "PhD - Social Work (I Have a Masters)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Social Work & Social Sciences Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Social Work & Social Sciences Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Social Work & Social Sciences Doctorate Programs (I Have a Masters)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Social Work & Social Sciences Doctorate Programs (I Have a Masters)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Social Work & Social Sciences Masters Programs (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Social Work & Social Sciences Masters Programs (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 2
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 1 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.8
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 1
DEBUG: ESYOH offers found, rendering ESYOH widget
DEBUG: most_relevant_only = true, filtering for most relevant
DEBUG: Found 0 offers with relevance >= 1.0
DEBUG: Backfilling with 0 offers with relevance >= 0.9
DEBUG: Backfilling with 1 offers with relevance >= 0.8

Best Schools for General Social Sciences in Illinois

Below are the schools that deliver the strongest overall general social sciences education in Illinois.

Top Schools in General Social Sciences

1

Leading the list is University Of Chicago, our #1 school for general social sciences. This very large private not-for-profit university is located in the city of Chicago. Roughly 96% of students complete a degree within six years here. University Of Chicago awarded about 770 general social sciences degrees in the most recent data year. Students who receive their general social sciences degree from University Of Chicago earn around $53,788 in the first couple years of their career. Students borrow a median of $15,854 to complete this degree. More information about a degree in general social sciences from University Of Chicago

2
North Central College crest
North Central College
Naperville, IL

Students looking for a strong general social sciences program will find one at North Central College, which ranked #2. Set in the city of Naperville, North Central College is a mid-sized private not-for-profit institution. North Central College graduates 64% of students within six years. North Central College awarded about 16 general social sciences degrees in the most recent data year. Graduates of the general social sciences program make about $46,247 in their early career. Students borrow a median of $25,699 to complete this degree. Get the full general social sciences details for North Central College

ADBLOCK #173
View All General Social Sciences Rankings >

ADBLOCK #115

Notes and References

This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 15 schools evaluated.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

ADBLOCK #116

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs
ADBLOCK #613

Compare Your School Options