2023 Most Popular Social Work Doctor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Social Work Doctor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 58,326 people earned a degree or certificate in social work, making the major the #13 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.
The Most Popular Social Work Doctor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 88 schools in the United States to see which doctor's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Social Work program at each school on the list.
2023 Most Popular Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the social work doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.
Top 15% Most Popular Social Work Doctor's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named University of Southern California the most popular school in the United States for social work students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Of the 193 students majoring in social work at USC, 27% are male and 73% are female.
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Out of the 88 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Capella University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Of the 69 students majoring in social work at Capella University, 13% are male and 87% are female.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Tennessee - Knoxville. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UT Knoxville is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Knoxville.
Women make up 95% of the social work majors at the school.
Full Social Work at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Report
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The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at New York University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular social work schools in the United States. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
About 89% of the students majoring in social work at the school are women while 11% are male.
Full Social Work at New York University Report
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Out of the 88 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of St Thomas Minnesota landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Saint Paul, UST MN is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
About 83% of the students majoring in social work at the school are women while 17% are male.
Read full report on Social Work at University of St Thomas Minnesota
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University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social work students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
Of the 17 students majoring in social work at UPenn, 18% are male and 82% are female.
Read full report on Social Work at University of Pennsylvania
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Tulane University of Louisiana landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree social work programs. Located in the large city of New Orleans, Tulane is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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Southern Connecticut State University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of New Haven, SCSU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Women make up 93% of the social work majors at the school.
Read full report on Social Work at Southern Connecticut State University
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Rutgers University - New Brunswick did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social work students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of New Brunswick, Rutgers New Brunswick is a public college with a very large student population.
Full Social Work at Rutgers University - New Brunswick Report
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Yeshiva University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of New York, Yeshiva is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
About 90% of the students majoring in social work at the school are women while 10% are male.
Read full report on Social Work at Yeshiva University
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Boston College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social work students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Of the 9 students majoring in social work at Boston College, 44% are male and 56% are female.
Full Social Work at Boston College Report
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With a ranking of #12, Aurora University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for social work students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
Full Social Work at Aurora University Report
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Fordham University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social work students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Fordham U is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Bronx.
Women make up 78% of the social work majors at the school.
Full Social Work at Fordham University Report
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Adelphi University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree social work programs. Adelphi is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Garden City.
About 56% of the students majoring in social work at the school are women while 44% are male.
Full Social Work at Adelphi University Report
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Social Work Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 17 | University of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT |
Social Work by Region
View the Most Popular Social Work Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
Majors Related to Social Work
Social Work is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.
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 27 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.