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Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

48 Colleges
$44,665 Avg Salary

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

Social Work is the #13 most popular major in the country with 58,326 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

The Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 48 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Check out the social work master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

Our analysis found University of Chicago to be the best school for social work students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Great Lakes Region . UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a great place for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a very large student population.

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Out of the 48 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a very large student population.

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Out of the 48 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater landed the # 5 spot on the list. UW - Whitewater is a large public school located in the distant town of Whitewater.

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Case Western Reserve University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social work programs. Case Western is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cleveland.

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#7

Erikson Institute

Chicago, IL

Erikson Institute ranked #7 on this year’s Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. The Erikson Institute is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

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#8

Saginaw Valley State University

University Center, MI

Saginaw Valley State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social work programs. Located in the midsize suburb of University Center, Saginaw Valley State University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

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University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UW Oshkosh is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Oshkosh.

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Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public school with a very large student population.

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Best Social Work Colleges by State

Explore the best social work colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 2,413
Ohio 2,332
Illinois 2,711
Indiana 1,545
Wisconsin 1,041

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 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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