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.
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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 midsize city of Berkeley.
Social Work majors at UC Berkeley take out an average of $13,045 in student loans while working on their egree.
Full Social Work at University of California - Berkeley Report
The excellent programs at Bethel University Minnesota helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in the United States. Located in the suburb of Saint Paul, Bethel University Minnesota is a private not-for-profit college 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.
The excellent programs at Winona State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in the United States. Winona State is a medium-sized public school located in the 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.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Elizabethtown College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Social Work Schools list. 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.
The excellent programs at Minot State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in the United States. 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.
With a ranking of #6, St Catherine University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students. St. Kate's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large 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.
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 remote 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.
With a ranking of #8, Capella University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.
University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social work students. It came in at #9 on the list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
Minnesota State University - Moorhead landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best social work programs. MSU Moorhead is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Moorhead.
While working on their degree, social work majors at MSU Moorhead accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.
With a ranking of #11, University of Maryland - Baltimore did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students. Located in the large city of Baltimore, UMB is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Full Social Work at University of Maryland - Baltimore Report
Nebraska Wesleyan University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Social Work Schools 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.
University of Wisconsin - River Falls did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social work students. It came in at #13 on the list. 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.
Full Social Work at University of Wisconsin - River Falls Report
With a ranking of #14, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Full Social Work at University of Southern California Report
University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Schools ranking. UW - Eau Claire is a large public school located in the small 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.
Camden County College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Blackwood, Camden County College is a public college with a medium-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.
Minnesota State University - Mankato ranked #17 on this year’s Best Social Work Schools list. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public school located in the small 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.
With a ranking of #18, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.
Metropolitan State University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best social work programs. Metro State is a medium-sized public school located in the 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.
Marquette University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Social Work Schools list. Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Social Work majors at Marquette take out an average of $21,500 in student loans while working on their egree.
Kansas State University landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best social work programs. 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.
University of Chicago came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
University of Washington - Tacoma Campus ranked #23 on this year’s Best Social Work Schools 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.
With a ranking of #24, Southwest Minnesota State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students. Located in the town of Marshall, Southwest Minnesota State University is a public college 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.
University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social work students. It came in at #25 on the list. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
Read full report on Social Work at University of Pennsylvania
Rest of the Top Best Social Work Schools
Additional Award Winners
This list represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Best Social Work Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school 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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