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

Updated: March 02, 2025

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 6.35M citations received by 143K 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: 25%
Receiving Aid: 70%
Average Aid: $24,176
Enrollment: 42,376

2. San Diego State University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#13 in California

#117 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Receiving Aid: 95%
Average Aid: $5,459
Enrollment: 39,241

3. University of San Diego

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#26 in California

#276 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 47%
Net Price: $37,675
Receiving Aid: 86%
Average Aid: $37,444

4. Alliant International University - San Diego

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#42 in California

#399 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

#624 in the United States

Enrollment: 48
Male:Female: 37:63

6. California Western School of Law

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#70 in California

#721 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 46%
Enrollment: 625
Male:Female: 38:62
Founded: 1924

7. Point Loma Nazarene University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#81 in California

#898 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Average SAT: 1275
Average ACT: 26
Net Price: $36,370

8. Northcentral University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#84 in California

#923 in the United States

Enrollment: 10,518
Male:Female: 24:76

9. Thomas Jefferson School of Law

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#85 in California

#931 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Enrollment: 244
Male:Female: 36:64
Founded: 1969

10. Newschool of Architecture and Design

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#86 in California

#935 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $50,190
Receiving Aid: 91%
Average Aid: $7,452

11. United States University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#92 in California

#1002 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

#1045 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $25,771
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $5,234

13. Southern States University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#107 in California

#1264 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

#129 in California

#1565 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

#131 in California

#1578 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Receiving Aid: 82%
Average Aid: $8,983
Enrollment: 19,243

16. California Miramar University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#137 in California

#1614 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 66%
Net Price: $9,298
Receiving Aid: 89%
Average Aid: $6,608

17. Pacific College of Oriental Medicine - San Diego

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#143 in California

#1716 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $37,477
Receiving Aid: 68%
Average Aid: $2,900

Universities for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences near San Diego

Distance, km 📏 km	University	Country rank 🏆	City
46	California State University - San Marcos	423	San Marcos, California
122	University of California - Irvine	43	Irvine, California
136	Chapman University	302	Orange, California
141	University of California - Riverside	98	Riverside, California
146	California State University - Fullerton	203	Fullerton, California
148	California State University - Long Beach	207	Long Beach, California
149	Loma Linda University	270	Loma Linda, California
150	University of Redlands	484	Redlands, California
154	Biola University	604	La Mirada, California
159	Autonomous University of Baja California	25	Mexicali