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Best Value Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Value Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

9 Colleges
$30,328 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$31,612 Avg Salary

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

In 2020-2021, 553 degrees and certificates were awarded to social work students who went to a Iowa college or university. This makes it the #18 most popular major in the state.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in Iowa to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for social work students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa

Check out the social work bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Best Iowa Schools for Affordable Quality for a Bachelor's in Social Work

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA

Our analysis found University of Northern Iowa to be the best value school for social work students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Iowa. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNI are $9,053 a year. Social Work majors at UNI take out an average of $23,267 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $147, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UNI is ranked #5 for overall quality for social work in Iowa.

Read full report on Social Work at University of Northern Iowa

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Iowa helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social work schools in Iowa. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Iowa are $9,942 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, social work graduates from Iowa carry an average student debtload of $25,372.

Read full report on Social Work at University of Iowa

#3

Loras College

Dubuque, IA

Out of the 9 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Loras College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Dubuque, Loras is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Loras undergraduate students pay an average of $35,268 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Social Work at Loras College

#4

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, IA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Mount Mercy University is a great value for social work students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Cedar Rapids, Mount Mercy is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Mount Mercy are $36,540 per year. The average amount in student loans that social work majors at Mount Mercy take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $31,797.

Read full report on Social Work at Mount Mercy University

#5

Grand View University

Des Moines, IA

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Grand View University are $30,954 a year.

Full Social Work at Grand View University Report

#6

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, IA

Saint Ambrose University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the medium-sized city of Davenport, St. Ambrose University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at St. Ambrose University are $33,570 a year.

Read More…

#7

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, IA

Briar Cliff University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree social work programs. Briar Cliff is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Sioux City.

Briar Cliff undergraduate students pay an average of $33,998 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#8

Luther College

Decorah, IA

With a ranking of #8, Luther College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their bachelor’s degree. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Decorah.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Luther are $46,760 a year.

Full Social Work at Luther College Report

#9

Clarke University

Dubuque, IA

Clarke University 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 #9 on the list. Located in the small city of Dubuque, Clarke is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Clarke are $36,870 a year.

Read full report on Social Work at Clarke University

Best Value Social Work Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Value Social Work Schools in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 924
Minnesota 2,131
Kansas 623
Nebraska 262
North Dakota 258
South Dakota 20

Social Work is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.

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 9 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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