<p>hello,
i'm interested in majoring in social sciences. i'm not quite sure which; i know that harvard is better on economics, but i wanted to know which one is best on social sciences overall between these two. if you have any sound idea about this or a link with a ranking, please answer.
thank you,
Laura</p>
<p>Er, which social science? I don't think you can major in "social sciences" at either of those universities; that's more of a thing for liberal arts colleges, I believe.</p>
<p>kyledavid doesn't know what he's talking about. PM me, I know a social studies major at Harvard who'd love to convince you not to go to Yale.</p>
<p>Go to Harvard. I mean honestly. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.safetyschool.org%5B/url%5D">www.safetyschool.org</a></p>
<p>TheMK99 doesn't know what he's talking about. As far as undergraduate education goes, Harvard and Yale are essentially equal in the social sciences (that is, neither one would provide a better education in any of the social sciences at the undergrad level). Basically, a decision between Harvard and Yale has to come down to which one is a better fit.</p>
<p>Yeah, the social science departments at both schools are excellent. The difference is marginal--therefore, it would be more productive to examine differences in undergraduate experience in general when choosing between the schools. The unique characteristics of each school's undergraduate experience (outside of social sciences) would have a bigger impact on your study of social sciences than the strength of the departments--because as I said the quality of both departments is the same.</p>
<p>I don't see how anyone can come up with a good answer for these kind of questions. So like, is Caltech or MIT better at physics?</p>
<p>University of Michigan, Ann Arbor </p>
<p>(beat you to it Alex!)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Er, which social science? I don't think you can major in "social sciences" at either of those universities; that's more of a thing for liberal arts colleges, I believe.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
kyledavid doesn't know what he's talking about. PM me, I know a social studies major at Harvard who'd love to convince you not to go to Yale.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Uh, well, Kyledavid80 was talking about a 'social science' concentration, not a 'social studies' concentration. Granted, that's just semantics. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.fas.harvard.edu/%7Esocstud/%5B/url%5D">http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~socstud/</a>
<a href="http://www.fas.harvard.edu/home/academics/deptwebsites.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.fas.harvard.edu/home/academics/deptwebsites.html</a></p>
<p>sakky, that's not what I meant--kyledavid said Yale and Harvard aren't "liberal arts colleges" so you can't major in "social sciences" at either. That is wrong whether you call it sciences or studies--you CAN major in social sciences/studies at both colleges. That LAC comment was pretty confused.</p>
<p>I guess we'll have to wait for kyledavid to come back here and clarify what he meant.</p>
<p>Economics: Harvard
Political Science: Yale
History: Yale
Sociology: Harvard
Psychology: Equal</p>
<p>Overall: Equal.</p>
<p>It all comes down where it best fits you.</p>
<p>The_prestige...you sly K-9! LOL! </p>
<p>When it comes to the Social Sciences, I give the edge to Mich...errr, I mean Harvard! Hehe!!! I think Yale wins in the Humanities, but Harvard is a heavy hitter when it comes to Economics and Political Science.</p>
<p>This said, those advantages are primarily for graduate studies. At the undergraduate level, I'd say they are equal in both the Humanities and the Social Sciences. The lucky and blessed few who get the pick between those two incredible universities should base their decision on cultural fit and environment rather than perceived program strength.</p>
<p>I interpreted the OP's "majoring in social sciences" as "I want to get a general degree in social science," and even the follow-up was vague since it didn't state which social science (I don't think you can generally say that one is better than another just in general "social sciences" -- at least not at the top universities). I draw a distinction between "social studies" and "social sciences." I mentioned LACs because I remember having seen "social studies - general" as a major.</p>
<p>wow, thanks guys...
i thought of choosing social studies (well, since I'm foreign, I didn't quite see a difference between studies and science) as a major because I'm certain that this is what I want to do, but I still have to decide on which I should concentrate most (which I will probably decide when it comes to grad school).
I particularly appreciated dhl3's answer, cuz he mentioned them individually.
i'm trying to go to their summer schools for high school students and I want to decide where to go. If I go to Harvard, I'll take Economics, if I go to Yale, 4 different courses regarding philosophy, cognitive psychology, political rhetorics and cultural anthropology. I'm in the process of applying right now, but I'm seriously trying to decide on one of them that I would prefer and it's really difficult..</p>