Social & Political Science

People are wildly diverse, and that makes studying them an exciting challenge. In order to do so, social scientists must incorporate insights from economics, demographic data, historical studies, and biological studies. As a result, the social sciences have become increasingly interdisciplinary. Disciplines keep crossing boundaries and creating new fields out of previously disparate areas of study, and the number of departments associated with the social sciences keeps increasing. Business and economics, for instance, have impacted psychology through behavioral economics. Neuroscience and evolutionary psychology now play a significant role in the sociological study of religion. Furthermore, researchers in the social sciences are constantly developing new and more powerful ways to identify, analyze, and interpret new data.

But it also means that ranking these programs faces considerable challenges. Students who study the social sciences need to specialize in a specific discipline, e.g. psychology or anthropology. At the same time, they also need support from other disciplines and departments that influence their selected disciplines.