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

2025 Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

28 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
2,552 Master's Degrees
$62,497 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your master's degree in social sciences, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #9 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual reviewed 28 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of social sciences. Combined, these schools handed out 2,552 master's degrees in social sciences to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

ADBLOCK #159
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = "social-sciences"
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json", major_slug = "social-sciences"
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = "social-sciences"
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = "social-sciences"
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 10
DEBUG: ROOT LEVEL MAJOR detected (no cip4), lowering min_relevance to 0.5
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.5, 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 "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)" ACCEPTED (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)" ACCEPTED (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)" ACCEPTED (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)" ACCEPTED (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)" ACCEPTED (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)" ACCEPTED (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)" ACCEPTED (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)" ACCEPTED (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)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 10
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 10 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.5
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 10
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

Choosing a Great Social Sciences School for Your Master's Degree

Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of social sciences for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for social sciences students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Social Sciences Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Social Sciences Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The social sciences school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region.

DEBUG: Raw major_slug = "social-sciences"
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json", major_slug = "social-sciences"
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = "social-sciences"
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = "social-sciences"
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 10
DEBUG: ROOT LEVEL MAJOR detected (no cip4), lowering min_relevance to 0.5
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.5, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "MSW - Social Work (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MSW - Social Work (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (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)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 2
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 2 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.5
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 2
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 0 offers with relevance >= 0.8
DEBUG: Backfilling with 0 offers with relevance >= 0.7
DEBUG: Backfilling with 0 offers with relevance >= 0.6
DEBUG: Backfilling with 2 offers with relevance >= 0.5

ADBLOCK #171

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Social Sciences in the Great Lakes Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in social sciences.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Master's in Social Sciences

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
92 Annual Graduates

Northwestern University is a wonderful option for individuals pursuing a master's degree in social sciences. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
883 Annual Graduates

University of Chicago is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in social sciences. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Chicago

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
108 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Michigan - Ann Arbor if you wish to pursue a master's degree in social sciences. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
39 Annual Graduates

University of Notre Dame is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a master's degree in social sciences. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Notre Dame

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
112 Annual Graduates

UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

ADBLOCK #172
6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
229 Annual Graduates

UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a master’s in social sciences from University of Wisconsin - Madison

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
37 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Indiana University - Bloomington

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
52 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Ohio State University - Main Campus

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
80 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Purdue University - Main Campus

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
29 Annual Graduates

Located in the town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social sciences from Miami University - Oxford

ADBLOCK #173

DEBUG: Raw major_slug = "social-sciences"
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json", major_slug = "social-sciences"
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = "social-sciences"
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = "social-sciences"
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 10
DEBUG: ROOT LEVEL MAJOR detected (no cip4), lowering min_relevance to 0.5
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.5, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 0
DEBUG: No relevant offers, showing generic ESYOH widget

Best Social Sciences Colleges by State

Explore the best social sciences schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Illinois 34 737
Indiana 33 189
Ohio 32 455
Michigan 31 312
Wisconsin 31 407
ADBLOCK #174

View All Rankings >

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Economics 877
General Social Sciences 725
Political Science & Government 246
Sociology 188
International Relations & National Security 146
Geography & Cartography 135
Anthropology 101
Other Social Sciences 28
Urban Studies 13
Archeology 2
ADBLOCK #175

Related Major Annual Graduates
Theology & Religious Vocations 1,986
Communication & Journalism 1,442
English Language & Literature 792
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 426
History 347
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 302
Philosophy & Religious Studies 270
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 230
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies 204

ADBLOCK #115

Notes and References

ADBLOCK #116

Popular Reports

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

Compare Your School Options