Recent Rankings Showcase SBS Excellence

Today
four students in front of the Social Sciences building

Several of the University of Arizona College of Social and Behavioral Sciences graduate programs have been recognized as among the best in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's 2025 Best Graduate Schools rankings.

  • Sociology (No. 28; tied for No.14 among public universities)
  • Public Affairs (tied for 36; tied for No. 26 among public universities) 
  • History (tied for No. 50; tied for No. 28 among public universities)
  • English (tied for No. 59; tied for No. 34 among public universities)

In the 2024 U.S. News and World Report rankings:

  • Political science (No. 51; No. 28 among public universities)

Other Recent SBS Rankings

These rankings reflect excellence in areas such as research productivity, research citations, and academic reputation.

ShanghaiRanking's 2024 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects

  • Communication (No. 21 in the U.S., No. 38 globally)
  • Geography (No. 10 in the U.S., No. 45 global)

2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject

  • Archaeology (No. 6 in the U.S., No. 4 among public U.S. universities, No. 18 globally)
  • Anthropology (No. 14 U.S., No. 5 public; No. 39 globally)
  • Linguistics (No. 16 U.S., No. 9 public; No. 41 globally)

2024-2025 Philosophical Gourmet Report 

  • Philosophy (Tied for No. 27 in the U.S., tied for No. 13 public)

2025 GISDegree.org

  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Online B.A. (No. 1)
  • GIS Online Certificate (No. 1)
  • GIS Online M.A. (No. 3)

“I am proud of our top-ranked graduate programs, which are in competitive fields that most major universities offer graduate degrees in. We also have many other excellent programs that are in disciplines not included in the rankings,” said Lori Poloni-Staudinger, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. “Our excellence in graduate education allows us to train the next generation of scholars and teachers and to support quality educational experiences for our undergraduate students.”

Poloni-Staudinger added, “Some of these rankings also reflect our research productivity and impact. In the College of SBS, our scholars are working to understand and advance solutions to the major challenges of our times. I am proud of their hard work and innovative scholarship.”