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Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

15 Colleges
$31,612 Avg Salary
$27,410 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 4,819 degrees and certificates were awarded to social work students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #26 most popular major in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 15 schools in California to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for social work majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 10 Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found University of California - Berkeley to be the best school for social work students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in California. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, social work majors at UC Berkeley accumulate an average of around $15,457 in student debt.

Read full report on Social Work at University of California - Berkeley

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Social Work at San Jose State University Report

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California State University - San Bernardino helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in California. CSUSB is a large public school located in the city of San Bernardino.

The average amount in student loans that social work majors at CSUSB take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $15,099.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - East Bay. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Fresno Pacific University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Fresno Pacific is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Fresno.

The average amount in student loans that social work majors at Fresno Pacific take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $25,275.

Read full report on Social Work at Fresno Pacific University

With a ranking of #6, California State University - Sacramento did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students working on their bachelor’s degree. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

On average, social work graduates from Sac State take out $22,418 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $159.

Full Social Work at California State University - Sacramento Report

California State University - Fresno did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social work students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

Social Work majors at Fresno State take out an average of $15,342 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Social Work at California State University - Fresno

California State University - Los Angeles landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree social work programs. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

The average amount in student loans that social work majors at Cal State LA take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $15,648.

Full Social Work at California State University - Los Angeles Report

California State University - Long Beach ranked #9 on this year’s Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that social work majors at CSULB take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $15,000.

Read full report on Social Work at California State University - Long Beach

Azusa Pacific University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large suburb of Azusa, Azusa Pacific is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

On average, social work graduates from Azusa Pacific take out $23,498 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Social Work at Azusa Pacific University Report

Best Social Work Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Social Work Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 678
Oregon 501
Nevada 462
Hawaii 199
Alaska 76

One of 5 majors within the area of study, social work has other similar majors worth exploring.

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 15 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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