2023 Best Social Work Schools
Finding the Best Social Work School for You
In 2020-2021, 58,326 people earned a degree or certificate in social work, making the major the #13 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Social Work Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 456 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Social Work Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for social work majors pursuing a .
Top 25 Top Schools in Social Work
Our analysis found University of California - Berkeley to be the best school for social work students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.
Social Work majors at UC Berkeley take out an average of $13,045 in student loans while working on their egree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Bethel University Minnesota. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Social Work Schools list. Located in the suburb of Saint Paul, Bethel University Minnesota is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
While working on their degree, social work majors at Bethel University Minnesota accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Winona State University is a great place for social work students. Winona State is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Winona.
On average, social work graduates from Winona State take out $28,389 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $144.
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The excellent programs at Elizabethtown College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in the United States. Etown is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Elizabethtown.
Social Work majors at Etown take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Minot State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Social Work Schools list. MSU is a small public school located in the remote town of Minot.
The average amount in student loans that social work majors at MSU take out is $27,000.
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St Catherine University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best social work programs. St. Kate's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul.
On average, social work graduates from St. Kate's take out $36,625 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Bemidji State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Schools ranking. Bemidji State University is a small public school located in the town of Bemidji.
Social Work majors at Bemidji State University take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Capella University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best social work programs. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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University of California - Los Angeles came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Schools ranking. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
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Minnesota State University - Moorhead did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social work students. It came in at #10 on the list. MSU Moorhead is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize suburb of Moorhead.
While working on their degree, social work majors at MSU Moorhead accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.
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University of Maryland - Baltimore landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best social work programs. Located in the city of Baltimore, UMB is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
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Nebraska Wesleyan University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social work students. It came in at #12 on the list. NWU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lincoln.
While working on their degree, social work majors at NWU accumulate an average of around $29,750 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #13, University of Wisconsin - River Falls did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students. UW - River Falls is a medium-sized public school located in the town of River Falls.
After completing their degree, social work graduates from UW - River Falls carry an average student debtload of $28,000.
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University of Southern California ranked #14 on this year’s Best Social Work Schools list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire ranked #15 on this year’s Best Social Work Schools list. UW - Eau Claire is a fairly large public school located in the city of Eau Claire.
Social Work majors at UW - Eau Claire take out an average of $23,961 in student loans while working on their egree.
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With a ranking of #16, Camden County College did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students. Located in the suburb of Blackwood, Camden County College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Social Work majors at Camden County College take out an average of $10,872 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Minnesota State University - Mankato came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Schools ranking. Minnesota State Mankato is a large public school located in the city of Mankato.
Social Work majors at Minnesota State Mankato take out an average of $23,250 in student loans while working on their egree.
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San Jose State University landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best social work programs. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the large city of San Jose.
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Metropolitan State University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Schools ranking. Metro State is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Saint Paul.
Social Work majors at Metro State take out an average of $29,113 in student loans while working on their egree.
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With a ranking of #20, Marquette University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Social Work majors at Marquette take out an average of $21,500 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Kansas State University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Schools ranking. K -State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Manhattan.
Social Work majors at K -State take out an average of $23,417 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $209, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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University of Chicago landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best social work programs. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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University of Washington - Tacoma Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social work students. It came in at #23 on the list. UW Tacoma is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Tacoma.
The average amount in student loans that social work majors at UW Tacoma take out is $15,612.
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Southwest Minnesota State University ranked #24 on this year’s Best Social Work Schools list. Located in the town of Marshall, Southwest Minnesota State University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
While working on their degree, social work majors at Southwest Minnesota State University accumulate an average of around $20,107 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #25, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
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Additional Award Winners
This list shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Social Work Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 456 different United States social work schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Boston University | Boston, MA |
| 52 | Augsburg University | Minneapolis, MN |
| 53 | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities | Minneapolis, MN |
| 54 | Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA |
| 55 | Cedarville University | Cedarville, OH |
| 56 | Salisbury University | Salisbury, MD |
| 57 | Colorado State University - Fort Collins | Fort Collins, CO |
| 58 | Smith College | Northampton, MA |
| 59 | University of Wisconsin - Whitewater | Whitewater, WI |
| 60 | California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach, CA |
| 61 | Mount Vernon Nazarene University | Mount Vernon, OH |
| 62 | Ramapo College of New Jersey | Mahwah, NJ |
| 63 | Texas Christian University | Fort Worth, TX |
| 64 | Fort Hays State University | Hays, KS |
| 65 | Indiana University - South Bend | South Bend, IN |
| 66 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
| 67 | Bristol Community College | Fall River, MA |
| 68 | Bluffton University | Bluffton, OH |
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Social Work students that almost earned our Best Social Work Schools award.
Social Work by Region
View the Best Social Work Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Social Work Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to Social Work
Social Work is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Social Work
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Public Administration | 16,905 |
| Human Services | 13,238 |
| Public Policy | 6,430 |
| Community Organization & Advocacy | 3,096 |
| Other Public Administration | 588 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Army Medicine.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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