The Doctor of Social Science (DSocSci, SScD, Dr. rer. soc. or DSS) degree is the highest degree offered by some universities in the field of

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

, for which other universities confer a Ph.D. Like the PhD, it is recognized as a terminal research degree that requires a substantial original thesis. In North America, the only universities to offer a Doctor of Social Science are Royal Roads University in British Columbia, Canada, and Wilmington University in New Castle, Delaware, United States.

Argentina

Provided by the National University of Luján

Australia

Provided by the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

Provided by the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

Canada

Provided by

Royal Roads University Royal Roads University (also referred to as RRU or Royal Roads) is a public university with its main campus in Colwood, British Columbia, Canada. The university is located at Hatley Park National Historic Site on Vancouver Island and is the succ ...

Finland

Provided by the

University of Tampere The University of Tampere (UTA) (, ) was a public university in Tampere, Finland that was merged with Tampere University of Technology to create the new Tampere University on 1 January 2019. The university offered undergraduate, postgraduate an ...

Provided by the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

and at which, somewhat infelicitously, the terminal degree in

Practical philosophy Practical philosophy concerns itself mainly with subjects that have applications in life, like the study of values, norms, politics, art, etc. The modern division of philosophy into theoretical philosophy and practical philosophyImmanuel Kant, ...

is awarded as a Doctor of Social Science (DSS), rather than a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.).

Germany

Provided e.g. by the

University of Mannheim The University of Mannheim (German: ''Universität Mannheim''), abbreviated UMA, is a public university, public research university in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1967, the university has its origins in the ''Palatine Aca ...

and by the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich.

Holy See

Provided by the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

Hong Kong

Provided by the University of Hong Kong.

Ireland

The DSocSci is offered as a full-time qualification by: *

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

Maynooth University Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...

United States

*Formerly Offered by

The New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...

, but abolished *Wilmington University, New Castle, Delaware *The American University of Business and Social Sciences (AUBSS), California

United Kingdom

The DSocSci is offered as a full-time or part-time qualification by: *Formerly offered by the University of Bristol, but abolished. *The

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

*The

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

References

{{Academic degrees

Social Science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

Social sciences