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.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Social Work
Our 2023 rankings named Minnesota State University - Mankato the best value school in the United States for social work students working on their master’s degree. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Mankato.
Minnesota State Mankato graduate students pay an average of $9,308 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Minnesota State Mankato also is in the top 20% of our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools ranking.
Full Social Work at Minnesota State University - Mankato Report
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Spring Arbor University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. Spring Arbor is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Spring Arbor.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Spring Arbor are $8,383 per year.
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Out of the 284 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Westfield State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Westfield is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Westfield.
Westfield graduate students pay an average of $6,696 in tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Brigham Young University - Provo helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social work schools in the United States. BYU is a very 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.
BYU excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Newman University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools 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.
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Ferris State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the town of Big Rapids, Ferris is a public college with a large student population.
Ferris graduate students pay an average of $8,232 in tuition and fees each year.
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Youngstown State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. Youngstown State University is a large public school located in the small city of Youngstown.
Youngstown State University graduate students pay an average of $6,931 in tuition and fees each year.
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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.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at FHSU are $11,376 per year.
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Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. IWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Marion.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at IWU are $10,440 per year.
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Arizona State University - Skysong 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 #10 on the list. ASU - Skysong is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Scottsdale.
ASU - Skysong graduate students pay an average of $9,982 in tuition and fees each year.
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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.
Anna Maria graduate students pay an average of $10,530 in tuition and fees each year.
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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.
West Texas A&M University graduate students pay an average of $8,574 in tuition and fees each year.
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Northeastern State University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the remote town of Tahlequah, NSU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at NSU are $10,911 per year.
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St Catherine 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 #14 on the list. St. Kate's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul.
St. Kate’s graduate students pay an average of $17,760 in tuition and fees each year.
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Northwest Nazarene 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 #15 on the list. Located in the suburb of Nampa, NNU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at NNU are $10,964 per year.
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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 city of Minneapolis, Augsburg is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Augsburg graduate students pay an average of $13,500 in tuition and fees each year.
Augsburg excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list.
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With a ranking of #17, Park University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Park University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Parkville.
Park University graduate students pay an average of $6,435 in tuition and fees each year.
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Marywood University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. Marywood is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Scranton.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Marywood are $11,438 a year.
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Saint Cloud State University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. St. Cloud State University is a fairly large public school located in the city of Saint Cloud.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at St. Cloud State University are $13,412 per year.
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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.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at SIUE are $9,316 per year.
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San Jose 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 #22 on the list. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Jose.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at San Jose State are $18,790 per year.
San Jose State also claimed a spot on our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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With a ranking of #23, Montclair State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Montclair State is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Montclair.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Montclair State are $13,519 per year.
Full Social Work at Montclair State University Report
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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 suburb of Salisbury.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Salisbury are $15,765 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Salisbury is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list.
Full Social Work at Salisbury University Report
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Aurora University landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. Located in the suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Aurora are $14,100 per year.
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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.
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