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 suburb of Spring Arbor, Spring Arbor is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Spring Arbor graduate students pay an average of $8,383 in tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Ferris State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social work schools in the Great Lakes Region . Ferris is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Big Rapids.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Ferris are $8,232 per year.
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Out of the 48 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Youngstown State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public college with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Youngstown State University are $6,931 per 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 college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at IWU are $10,440 a year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. SIUE is a fairly 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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Aurora University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Aurora is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Aurora.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Aurora are $14,100 per year.
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Illinois State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Illinois State are $11,773 per year.
Illinois State 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 in the Great Lakes Region list.
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University of Akron Main Campus landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. Located in the city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public college 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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University of Wisconsin - Whitewater came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UW - Whitewater is a large public school located in the town of Whitewater.
UW - Whitewater graduate students pay an average of $19,190 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #10, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. UW Oshkosh is a large public school located in the small city of Oshkosh.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UW Oshkosh are $18,760 a 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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