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

Updated: February 29, 2024

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 4.59M citations received by 125K 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

#5 in California

#23 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 24%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $20,782
Enrollment: 42,006

2. San Diego State University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#13 in California

#115 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 39%
Receiving Aid: 98%
Average Aid: $9,934
Enrollment: 37,402

3. University of San Diego

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#27 in California

#277 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 53%
Net Price: $36,008
Receiving Aid: 84%
Average Aid: $36,408

4. Alliant International University - San Diego

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#42 in California

#397 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

#54 in California

#575 in the United States

Enrollment: 44
Male:Female: 45:55

6. California Western School of Law

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#71 in California

#748 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 46%
Enrollment: 623
Male:Female: 38:62
Founded: 1924

7. Point Loma Nazarene University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#79 in California

#887 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Net Price: $34,933
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $19,422

8. Newschool of Architecture and Design

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#83 in California

#937 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Net Price: $50,126
Receiving Aid: 64%
Average Aid: $6,832

9. Thomas Jefferson School of Law

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#89 in California

#1004 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Enrollment: 271
Male:Female: 36:64
Founded: 1969

10. Northcentral University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#95 in California

#1083 in the United States

Enrollment: 11,578
Male:Female: 24:76

11. Ashford University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#97 in California

#1092 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $25,104
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $5,121

12. United States University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#104 in California

#1221 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $13,529
Receiving Aid: 75%
Average Aid: $3,125

13. Southern States University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#108 in California

#1288 in the United States

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

14. San Diego Mesa College

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#130 in California

#1551 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Receiving Aid: 57%
Average Aid: $6,656
Enrollment: 18,076

15. California Miramar University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#138 in California

#1637 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Net Price: $10,207
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $5,187

16. Platt College - San Diego

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#140 in California

#1653 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $29,641
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $4,104

17. Pacific College of Oriental Medicine - San Diego

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#142 in California

#1707 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $26,446
Receiving Aid: 83%
Average Aid: $3,014

Universities for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences near San Diego

Distance, km 📏 km	University	Country rank 🏆	City
46	California State University - San Marcos	404	San Marcos, California
122	University of California - Irvine	42	Irvine, California
136	Chapman University	305	Orange, California
141	University of California - Riverside	102	Riverside, California
146	California State University - Fullerton	204	Fullerton, California
148	California State University - Long Beach	210	Long Beach, California
149	Loma Linda University	264	Loma Linda, California
150	University of Redlands	569	Redlands, California
154	Biola University	604	La Mirada, California
159	Autonomous University of Baja California	20	Mexicali