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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

78 Colleges
$15,932 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$31,612 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Work Bachelor'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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 78 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for social work students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

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

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

Top 15% Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global to be the best value school for social work students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the rural area of Marion, IWU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

IWU undergraduate students pay an average of $9,239 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Social Work at Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Wisconsin - River Falls is a great value for social work students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the town of River Falls, UW - River Falls is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

UW - River Falls undergraduate students pay an average of $15,661 in tuition and fees each year. On average, social work graduates from UW - River Falls take out $28,354 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

In addition to its great value ranking, UW - River Falls is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read More…

#3

Youngstown State University

Youngstown, OH

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Youngstown State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social work schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the small city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Youngstown State University are $9,732 per year. The average amount in student loans that social work majors at Youngstown State University take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $37,526.

Read full report on Social Work at Youngstown State University

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social work schools in the Great Lakes Region . UW Oshkosh is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Oshkosh.

UW Oshkosh undergraduate students pay an average of $15,306 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Social Work at University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public college with a large student population.

UW - Eau Claire undergraduate students pay an average of $17,149 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - Eau Claire also did well on our Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Social Work at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

Western Illinois University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

WIU undergraduate students pay an average of $13,297 in tuition and fees each year. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $228.

Full Social Work at Western Illinois University Report

University of Akron Main Campus ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 per year. Social Work majors at University of Akron Main Campus take out an average of $35,115 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Social Work at University of Akron Main Campus Report

University of Wisconsin - Superior ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Superior, UW - Superior is a public college with a small student population.

UW - Superior undergraduate students pay an average of $15,728 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Social Work at University of Wisconsin - Superior Report

#9

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI

Central Michigan University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Central Michigan is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Central Michigan are $13,094 per year. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $202.

Read full report on Social Work at Central Michigan University

With a ranking of #10, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their bachelor’s degree. SIUE is a large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUE are $11,496 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, social work graduates from SIUE carry an average student debtload of $24,439.

Full Social Work at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Report

University of Wisconsin - Green Bay 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 #11 on the list. UW - Green Bay is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Green Bay.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Green Bay are $16,091 per year. The average amount in student loans that social work majors at UW - Green Bay take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $25,312.

Read full report on Social Work at University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great value schools for Social Work students in the Great Lakes Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
12 Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI
13 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI
14 Saint Augustine College Chicago, IL
15 University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI

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.

  • 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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