Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

14 Colleges
$17,897 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$44,665 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Work Master's Degree School for You

With 2,251 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, social work is the #19 most popular major in Pennsylvania.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. 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 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 Pennsylvania ranking. Our analysis looked at 14 schools in Pennsylvania 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.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

Check out the social work master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named West Chester University of Pennsylvania the best value school in Pennsylvania for social work students working on their master’s degree. WCUPA is a large public school located in the suburb of West Chester.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at WCUPA are $11,898 a year.

Read full report on Social Work at West Chester University of Pennsylvania

#2

Marywood University

Scranton, PA

Out of the 14 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Marywood University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Scranton, Marywood is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Marywood are $11,438 per year.

Read full report on Social Work at Marywood University

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania is a great value for social work students working on their master’s degree. Ship is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Shippensburg.

Ship graduate students pay an average of $11,970 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the fringe town of Edinboro, Edinboro is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Edinboro are $12,246 per year.

Read full report on Social Work at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Millersville University of Pennsylvania is a great value for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Millersville, Millersville is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Millersville graduate students pay an average of $11,934 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Social Work at Millersville University of Pennsylvania

With a ranking of #6, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the town of Kutztown, Kutztown University is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Kutztown University are $11,440 per year.

Read full report on Social Work at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

#7

Alvernia University

Reading, PA

Alvernia University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Alvernia is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Reading.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Alvernia are $16,130 a year.

Read full report on Social Work at Alvernia University

California University of Pennsylvania 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 #8 on the list. Located in the small suburb of California, Cal U is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal U are $12,919 a year.

Read full report on Social Work at California University of Pennsylvania

#9

Temple University

Philadelphia, PA

Temple University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. Temple is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Temple are $18,278 a year.

Read full report on Social Work at Temple University

#10

Widener University

Chester, PA

Widener University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. Widener is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Chester.

Widener graduate students pay an average of $25,416 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Social Work at Widener University Report

Best Value Social Work Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Value Social Work Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 5,784
Maryland 1,072
New Jersey 1,893
District of Columbia 243
Delaware 100

One of 5 majors within the area of study, social work has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar 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 14 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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.