2023 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Social Work Master's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 33,631 social work students received their degrees and certificates, making the major the #6 most popular in the country.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 284 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Social Work Master's Degree Colleges.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Social Work
Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best school in the United States for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St Catherine University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, St. Kate's is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Full Social Work at University of California - Los Angeles Report
Out of the 284 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Maryland - Baltimore landed the # 4 spot on the list. UMB is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Baltimore.
Read full report on Social Work at University of Maryland - Baltimore
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Social Work at San Jose State University
University of Southern California ranked #6 on this year’s Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Full Social Work at University of Southern California Report
University of Chicago 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 #7 on the list. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
With a ranking of #8, University of St Thomas Minnesota did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. UST MN is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul.
Read full report on Social Work at University of St Thomas Minnesota
University of Washington - Tacoma Campus ranked #9 on this year’s Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Tacoma, UW Tacoma is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Full Social Work at University of Washington - Tacoma Campus Report
University of Pennsylvania came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
Read full report on Social Work at University of Pennsylvania
University of Nevada - Reno 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 #11 on the list. UNR is a fairly large public school located in the city of Reno.
Read full report on Social Work at University of Nevada - Reno
Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social work programs. Located in the small city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a fairly large student population.
California State University - Stanislaus 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 #13 on the list. Located in the suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Full Social Work at California State University - Stanislaus Report
California State University - Fresno 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 #14 on the list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.
Full Social Work at California State University - Fresno Report
The University of Texas at Austin landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social work programs. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a very large student population.
Full Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin Report
With a ranking of #16, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
Full Social Work at Columbia University in the City of New York Report
With a ranking of #17, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a very large student population.
Full Social Work at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Report
California State University - East Bay ranked #18 on this year’s Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UW Seattle is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Seattle.
Read full report on Social Work at University of Washington - Seattle Campus
California State University - Monterey Bay came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools ranking. CSUMB is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Seaside.
With a ranking of #21, Washington University in St Louis did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.
Read full report on Social Work at Washington University in St Louis
With a ranking of #22, University of North Dakota did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Grand Forks, UND is a public college with a fairly large student population.
With a ranking of #23, Boston University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
With a ranking of #24, New York University did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
California State University - Long Beach ranked #25 on this year’s Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Social Work at California State University - Long Beach
Rest of the Top Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Social Work students that almost earned our Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 43 | Texas Christian University | Fort Worth, TX |
| 44 | Auburn University | Auburn, AL |
| 45 | Azusa Pacific University | Azusa, CA |
| 46 | Saint Cloud State University | Saint Cloud, MN |
| 47 | Alvernia University | Reading, PA |
| 48 | The College of Saint Scholastica | Duluth, MN |
| 49 | Saginaw Valley State University | University Center, MI |
| 50 | Widener University | Chester, PA |
| 51 | George Mason University | Fairfax, VA |
| 52 | California State University - San Bernardino | San Bernardino, CA |
| 53 | Ramapo College of New Jersey | Mahwah, NJ |
| 54 | California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton, CA |
| 55 | California State University - Dominguez Hills | Carson, CA |
| 56 | Howard University | Washington, DC |
Social Work by Region
View the Best Social Work Master'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 |
More Social Work Rankings
Social Work Related Rankings by Major
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 | 13,571 |
| Public Policy | 3,737 |
| Human Services | 1,277 |
| Community Organization & Advocacy | 741 |
| Other Public Administration | 295 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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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