2023 Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Social Work Master's Degree School for You
Social Work is the #16 most popular major in North Carolina with 1,757 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
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 North Carolina to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 13 schools in North Carolina 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.
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.
Top 10 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Appalachian State University the best value school in North Carolina for social work students working on their master’s degree. Appalachian State is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Boone.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Appalachian State are $8,007 per year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend East Carolina University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. ECU is a very large public school located in the small city of Greenville.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at ECU are $7,594 a year.
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Out of the 13 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Charlotte landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Charlotte, UNC Charlotte is a public college with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UNC Charlotte are $7,713 per year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at University of North Carolina at Wilmington helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social work schools in North Carolina. UNCW is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Wilmington.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UNCW are $7,514 a year.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a great value for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Greensboro, UNC Greensboro is a public college with a large student population.
UNC Greensboro graduate students pay an average of $8,265 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Full Social Work at University of North Carolina at Greensboro Report
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Fayetteville 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 #6 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Fayetteville, Fayetteville State University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Fayetteville State University are $5,835 a year.
Full Social Work at Fayetteville State University Report
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Western Carolina University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. Located in the distant town of Cullowhee, WCU is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at WCU are $7,480 a year.
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University of North Carolina at Pembroke ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Pembroke is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Pembroke.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UNC Pembroke are $6,775 a year.
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With a ranking of #9, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UNC Chapel Hill are $12,566 per year.
UNC Chapel Hill also made our Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list, coming in at #2.
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North Carolina Central 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 #10 on the list. Located in the large city of Durham, North Carolina Central University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at North Carolina Central University are $7,641 per year.
Request InformationBest Value Social Work Colleges in the Southeast Region
Explore all the Best Value Social Work Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Georgia | 753 |
| Virginia | 1,010 |
| Florida | 1,569 |
| Tennessee | 1,237 |
| Kentucky | 1,510 |
| South Carolina | 383 |
| Louisiana | 859 |
| Arkansas | 405 |
| Alabama | 1,173 |
| Mississippi | 595 |
| West Virginia | 316 |
More Social Work Rankings in North Carolina
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 13 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.