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

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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 2023 rankings named University of Chicago the best school in the Great Lakes Region for social work students working on their master’s degree. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Full Social Work at University of Chicago Report

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 midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Social Work at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Madison helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Social Work at University of Wisconsin - Madison

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Wisconsin - Whitewater is a great place for social work students working on their master’s degree. UW - Whitewater is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Whitewater.

Full Social Work at University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Report

Case Western Reserve University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social work students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Case Western is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Cleveland.

Full Social Work at Case Western Reserve University Report

#7

Erikson Institute

Chicago, IL

Erikson Institute landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social work programs. The Erikson Institute is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Read full report on Social Work at Erikson Institute

#8

Saginaw Valley State University

University Center, MI

Saginaw Valley State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social work students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the suburb of University Center, Saginaw Valley State University is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

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University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social work programs. UW Oshkosh is a large public school located in the city of Oshkosh.

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Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social work programs. Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Social Work at Ohio State University - Main Campus Report

Best Social Work Colleges by State

Explore the best social work schools 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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