2023 Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Social Work Master's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 4,819 degrees and certificates were awarded to social work students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #26 most popular major in the state.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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 Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 23 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for social work students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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. 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.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools
Our analysis found San Jose State University to be the best value school for social work students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $9,286 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Social Work at San Jose State University
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Out of the 23 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the # 2 spot on the list. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the city of Fresno.
Fresno State graduate students pay an average of $8,087 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means California State University - East Bay is a great value for social work students working on their master’s degree. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.
Cal State East Bay graduate students pay an average of $8,429 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSULB are $8,280 per year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Monterey Bay. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California list. CSUMB is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Seaside.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUMB are $8,652 per year.
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California State University - Stanislaus landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. Located in the small suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Stan State are $9,078 a year.
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With a ranking of #7, San Francisco State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. SFSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SFSU are $8,738 per year.
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With a ranking of #8, California State University - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Cal State LA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal State LA are $8,219 a year.
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California State University - Fullerton landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 a year.
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California State University - Sacramento ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Sacramento.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Sac State are $8,826 per year.
Read full report on Social Work at California State University - Sacramento
Request InformationBest Value Social Work Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Social Work Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 678 |
| Oregon | 501 |
| Nevada | 462 |
| Hawaii | 199 |
| Alaska | 76 |
More Social Work Rankings in California
Social Work Related Majors for Social Work
One of 5 majors within the area of study, social work has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related 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 23 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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