17 Best colleges for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences in San Diego, CA

Updated: March 15, 2026

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in San Diego ranked based on their research performance in Liberal Arts & Social Sciences. A graph of 6.7M citations received by 147K academic papers made by 17 universities in San Diego was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of California-San Diego

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#4 in California

#23 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 27%
Receiving Aid: 66%
Average Aid: $25,757
Enrollment: 44,256

2. San Diego State University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#13 in California

#119 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 36%
Receiving Aid: 62%
Average Aid: $12,053
Enrollment: 41,137

3. University of San Diego

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#26 in California

#276 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Net Price: $37,918
Receiving Aid: 87%
Average Aid: $40,965

4. Alliant International University - San Diego

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#42 in California

#398 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 0%
Net Price: $25,481
Receiving Aid: 33%
Average Aid: $9,411

5. Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#64 in California

#628 in the United States

Enrollment: 52
Male:Female: 32:68

6. California Western School of Law

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#71 in California

#728 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 46%
Enrollment: 650
Male:Female: 38:62
Founded: 1924

7. Point Loma Nazarene University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#81 in California

#896 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 84%
Average SAT: 1270
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $39,696

8. Northcentral University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#85 in California

#926 in the United States

Enrollment: 9,489
Male:Female: 26:74

9. Newschool of Architecture and Design

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#87 in California

#939 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $55,265
Receiving Aid: 88%
Average Aid: $7,862

10. Thomas Jefferson School of Law

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#88 in California

#941 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Enrollment: 262
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1969

11. United States University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#90 in California

#995 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $20,197
Receiving Aid: 32%
Average Aid: $8,161

12. Ashford University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#94 in California

#1029 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $32,265
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $5,648

13. Southern States University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#108 in California

#1275 in the United States

Net Price: $2,640
Receiving Aid: 6%
Average Aid: $5,478
Enrollment: 358

14. Platt College - San Diego

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#130 in California

#1570 in the United States

Net Price: $29,641
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $4,104
Enrollment: 96

15. San Diego Mesa College

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#132 in California

#1583 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $8,252
Enrollment: 19,212

16. California Miramar University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#135 in California

#1602 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 18%
Net Price: $12,480
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $6,587

17. Pacific College of Oriental Medicine - San Diego

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#145 in California

#1718 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $51,918
Receiving Aid: 35%
Average Aid: $3,026

Universities for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences near San Diego

Distance, km 📏 km	University	Country rank 🏆	City
46	California State University - San Marcos	422	San Marcos, California
122	University of California - Irvine	43	Irvine, California
136	Chapman University	300	Orange, California
141	University of California - Riverside	98	Riverside, California
146	California State University - Fullerton	206	Fullerton, California
148	California State University - Long Beach	208	Long Beach, California
149	Loma Linda University	269	Loma Linda, California
150	University of Redlands	492	Redlands, California
154	Biola University	601	La Mirada, California
159	Autonomous University of Baja California	25	Mexicali