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.
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2023 Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California
The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for social work majors pursuing a master's degree.
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 city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at San Jose State are $9,286 per year.
The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Fresno helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social work schools in California. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Fresno State are $8,087 per year.
Out of the 23 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - East Bay landed the # 3 spot on the list. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State East Bay are $8,429 per year.
Read full report on Social Work at California State University - East Bay
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - Long Beach is a great value for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSULB are $8,280 a year.
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 medium-sized suburb of Seaside.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUMB are $8,652 per year.
Read full report on Social Work at California State University - Monterey Bay
With a ranking of #6, California State University - Stanislaus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Stan State are $9,078 a year.
Full Social Work at California State University - Stanislaus Report
San Francisco 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 #7 on the list. SFSU is a fairly 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.
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 fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Cal State LA graduate students pay an average of $8,219 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Social Work at California State University - Los Angeles
California State University - Fullerton came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a very large student population.
Cal State Fullerton graduate students pay an average of $8,410 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Full Social Work at California State University - Fullerton Report
California State University - Sacramento 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. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Sac State are $8,826 a year.
Full Social Work at California State University - Sacramento Report
Best Value Social Work Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Social Work Schools 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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