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Best Social Work Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Best Social Work Schools in Pennsylvania

24 Colleges
$38,199 Avg Salary
$27,340 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Social Work School for You

With 2,251 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, social work is the #19 most popular major in Pennsylvania.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. 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 in Pennsylvania ranking. Our analysis looked at 24 schools in Pennsylvania to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Social Work Schools in Pennsylvania

The colleges and universities below are the best for social work majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Social Work Schools

#1

Elizabethtown College

Elizabethtown, PA

Our analysis found Elizabethtown College to be the best school for social work students who want to pursue a degree in Pennsylvania. Located in the large suburb of Elizabethtown, Etown is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Social Work majors at Etown take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

#2

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

The excellent programs at University of Pennsylvania helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in Pennsylvania. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Full Social Work at University of Pennsylvania Report

#3

Bryn Mawr College

Bryn Mawr, PA

The excellent programs at Bryn Mawr College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in Pennsylvania. Bryn Mawr is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Bryn Mawr.

Read full report on Social Work at Bryn Mawr College

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania is a great place for social work students. Bloomsburg is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Bloomsburg.

Social Work majors at Bloomsburg take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $215, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Social Work at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend West Chester University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Social Work Schools in Pennsylvania list. WCUPA is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of West Chester.

Full Social Work at West Chester University of Pennsylvania Report

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania ranked #6 on this year’s Best Social Work Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the town of Slippery Rock, SRU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Social Work majors at SRU take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $252.

Read full report on Social Work at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

#7

Alvernia University

Reading, PA

With a ranking of #7, Alvernia University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students. Alvernia is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Reading.

On average, social work graduates from Alvernia take out $49,875 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Social Work at Alvernia University

With a ranking of #8, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students. Ship is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Shippensburg.

On average, social work graduates from Ship take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Social Work at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Report

#9

Widener University

Chester, PA

Widener University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for social work students. It came in at #9 on the list. Widener is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Chester.

After completing their degree, social work graduates from Widener carry an average student debtload of $31,000.

Read More…

#10

Temple University

Philadelphia, PA

Temple University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Temple is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Social Work majors at Temple take out an average of $26,000 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $319, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Social Work at Temple University

Best Social Work Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Social Work Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 5,784
Maryland 1,072
New Jersey 1,893
District of Columbia 243
Delaware 100

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

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 24 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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