2023 Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools in Illinois
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Social Work Master's Degree School for You
With 2,711 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, social work is the #11 most popular major in Illinois.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 15 schools in Illinois 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.
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 Governors State University the best value school in Illinois for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the rural area of University Park, GSU is a public college with a small student population.
GSU graduate students pay an average of $8,320 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 Illinois State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Illinois State are $9,773 per year.
Illinois State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.
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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 #3 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.
SIUE graduate students pay an average of $9,316 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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Out of the 15 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Aurora University landed the # 4 spot on the list. 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 in-state tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Aurora also is in the top 20% of our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Chicago State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Chicago, CSU is a public school with a small student population.
CSU graduate students pay an average of $9,728 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
UIUC graduate students pay an average of $17,823 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UIUC is ranked #3 for overall quality for social work in Illinois.
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With a ranking of #7, Northeastern Illinois University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Northeastern Illinois University is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Chicago.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Northeastern Illinois University are $9,428 a year.
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Erikson Institute ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. The Erikson Institute is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at The Erikson Institute are $20,588 a year.
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University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. UIC is a very large public school located in the large city of Chicago.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UIC are $17,277 per year.
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University of St Francis landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Joliet.
University of Saint Francis graduate students pay an average of $13,839 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
University of Saint Francis also made our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #4.
Read full report on Social Work at University of St Francis
Request InformationBest Value Social Work Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Value Social Work Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 2,413 |
| Ohio | 2,332 |
| Indiana | 1,545 |
| Wisconsin | 1,041 |
More Social Work Rankings in Illinois
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 15 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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