2023 Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Social Work Master's Degree School for You
Social Work is the #13 most popular major in the country with 58,326 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
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 in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 48 schools in the Great Lakes Region 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.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used 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 2023 rankings named Spring Arbor University the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small suburb of Spring Arbor, Spring Arbor is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Spring Arbor are $8,383 per year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ferris State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Ferris is a fairly large public school located in the town of Big Rapids.
Ferris graduate students pay an average of $8,232 in tuition and fees each year.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Youngstown State University is a great value for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Youngstown State University graduate students pay an average of $6,931 in tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the rural area of Marion, IWU is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
IWU graduate students pay an average of $10,440 in tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social work schools in the Great Lakes Region . SIUE is a large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at SIUE are $9,316 per year.
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With a ranking of #6, Aurora University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Aurora is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Aurora.
Aurora graduate students pay an average of $14,100 in tuition and fees each year.
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Illinois State University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the suburb of Normal.
Illinois State graduate students pay an average of $11,773 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Illinois State is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
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University of Akron Main Campus came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,936 per year.
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With a ranking of #9, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. UW - Whitewater is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Whitewater.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UW - Whitewater are $19,190 per year.
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University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UW Oshkosh is a large public school located in the small city of Oshkosh.
UW Oshkosh graduate students pay an average of $18,760 in tuition and fees each year.
Request InformationBest Social Work Colleges by State
Explore the best social work colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 2,413 |
| Ohio | 2,332 |
| Illinois | 2,711 |
| Indiana | 1,545 |
| Wisconsin | 1,041 |
More Social Work Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
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 Related Majors
| 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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