2023 Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Social Work School for You
In 2020-2021, 553 degrees and certificates were awarded to social work students who went to a Iowa college or university. This makes it the #18 most popular major in the state.
There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in Iowa to see which 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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
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2023 Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa
The following schools top our list of the Best Value Social Work Colleges.
Best Iowa Schools for Affordable Quality in Social Work
Our 2023 rankings named University of Northern Iowa the best value school in Iowa for social work students. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
UNI undergraduate students pay an average of $9,053 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, social work majors at UNI accumulate an average of around $23,525 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $147, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
UNI also took the #5 spot in our Best Social Work Schools in Iowa rankings.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa list. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public college with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa are $9,942 per year. The average amount in student loans that social work majors at Iowa take out is $26,000.
Iowa excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Social Work Schools in Iowa list.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Ambrose University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa list. Located in the medium-sized city of Davenport, St. Ambrose University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at St. Ambrose University are $33,570 a year.
The excellent programs at Loras College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in Iowa. Located in the small city of Dubuque, Loras is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Loras are $35,268 a year. After completing their degree, social work graduates from Loras carry an average student debtload of $27,000.
The excellent programs at Clarke University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in Iowa. Located in the small city of Dubuque, Clarke is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Clarke are $36,870 a year.
Mount Mercy University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa ranking. Located in the midsize city of Cedar Rapids, Mount Mercy is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Mount Mercy undergraduate students pay an average of $36,540 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, social work graduates from Mount Mercy take out $26,234 in student loans while working on their degree.
With a ranking of #7, Grand View University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students. Grand View University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines.
Grand View University undergraduate students pay an average of $30,954 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that social work majors at Grand View University take out is $27,000.
Briar Cliff University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value social work programs. Briar Cliff is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Sioux City.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Briar Cliff are $33,998 a year. While working on their degree, social work majors at Briar Cliff accumulate an average of around $39,196 in student debt.
Luther College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value social work programs. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Decorah.
Luther undergraduate students pay an average of $46,760 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that social work majors at Luther take out is $27,000.
Best Value Social Work Colleges in the Plains States Region
Explore all the Best Value Social Work Schools in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Missouri | 924 |
| Minnesota | 2,131 |
| Kansas | 623 |
| Nebraska | 262 |
| North Dakota | 258 |
| South Dakota | 20 |
More Social Work Rankings in Iowa
Majors Related to Social Work
Social Work is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.
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 9 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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