2023 Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Social Work Master's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 58,326 people earned a degree or certificate in social work, making the major the #13 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 284 schools in the United States to see which master'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.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Featured schools near , edit
2023 Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the social work master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Social Work
Our analysis found Minnesota State University - Mankato to be the best value school for social work students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Mankato.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Minnesota State Mankato are $9,308 a year.
Minnesota State Mankato also claimed a spot on our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Spring Arbor University is a great value for social work students working on their master’s degree. Spring Arbor is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Spring Arbor.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Spring Arbor are $8,383 a year.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Westfield State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social work schools in the United States. Westfield is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Westfield.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Westfield are $6,696 per year.
Out of the 284 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Brigham Young University - Provo landed the # 4 spot on the list. BYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Provo.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at BYU are $7,700 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, BYU also did well on our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Out of the 284 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Newman University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Wichita, Newman University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Newman University graduate students pay an average of $8,484 in tuition and fees each year.
Ferris State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the distant town of Big Rapids, Ferris is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Ferris are $8,232 per year.
Youngstown State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Youngstown State University is a large public school located in the small city of Youngstown.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Youngstown State University are $6,931 per year.
Fort Hays 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. FHSU is a fairly large public school located in the remote town of Hays.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at FHSU are $11,376 a year.
Read full report on Social Work at Fort Hays State University
Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global 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 #9 on the list. IWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Marion.
IWU graduate students pay an average of $10,440 in tuition and fees each year.
With a ranking of #10, Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. ASU - Skysong is a fairly large public school located in the city of Scottsdale.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at ASU - Skysong are $9,982 per year.
Full Social Work at Arizona State University - Skysong Report
Anna Maria College 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 #11 on the list. Anna Maria is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Paxton.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Anna Maria are $10,530 per year.
West Texas A&M University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. West Texas A&M University is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Canyon.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at West Texas A&M University are $8,574 per year.
Northeastern 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 #13 on the list. Located in the town of Tahlequah, NSU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
NSU graduate students pay an average of $10,911 in tuition and fees each year.
St Catherine University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools ranking. St. Kate's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at St. Kate’s are $17,760 a year.
Northwest Nazarene University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. Located in the midsize suburb of Nampa, NNU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at NNU are $10,964 a year.
Augsburg 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 #16 on the list. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, Augsburg is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Augsburg graduate students pay an average of $13,500 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Augsburg is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list.
Park 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 #17 on the list. Park University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Parkville.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Park University are $6,435 per year.
With a ranking of #19, Marywood University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Marywood is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Scranton.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Marywood are $11,438 per year.
With a ranking of #20, Saint Cloud State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. St. Cloud State University is a large public school located in the city of Saint Cloud.
St. Cloud State University graduate students pay an average of $13,412 in tuition and fees each year.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at SIUE are $9,316 a year.
Read full report on Social Work at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
San Jose State University landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Jose.
San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $18,790 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, San Jose State is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list.
Montclair State University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Montclair State is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Montclair.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Montclair State are $13,519 per year.
Salisbury 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 #24 on the list. Salisbury is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of Salisbury.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Salisbury are $15,765 a year.
Salisbury also claimed a spot on our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Aurora University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Aurora are $14,100 per year.
Rest of the Top Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great value schools for Social Work students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 43 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
| 44 | Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield, MO |
| 45 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester, PA |
| 46 | University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA |
| 46 | Concord University | Athens, WV |
| 48 | Texas Woman’s University | Denton, TX |
| 49 | California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento, CA |
| 50 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Edinburg, TX |
| 51 | Arkansas State University - Main Campus | Jonesboro, AR |
| 52 | Campbellsville University | Campbellsville, KY |
| 53 | University of Akron Main Campus | Akron, OH |
| 54 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha, NE |
| 54 | California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton, CA |
| 56 | Bridgewater State University | Bridgewater, MA |
| 56 | Western New Mexico University | Silver City, NM |
Social Work by Region
View the Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Social Work Rankings
Majors Related to Social Work
Social Work is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.
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 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.
Featured Schools
Request Info
|
Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs. Learn More > |
Course Advisor provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© Course Advisor – All Rights Reserved.