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Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in California

23 Colleges
$44,665 Avg Salary

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

Out of the majors we analyze each year, social work was ranked 8th in California. In fact, 3,305 were awarded in the state 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 23 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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.

2023 Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Social Work Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best school in California for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Social Work at University of California - Berkeley Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Social Work at University of California - Los Angeles

The excellent master’s degree programs at San Jose State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in California. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Social Work at San Jose State University

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Southern California helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in California. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Full Social Work at University of Southern California Report

Out of the 23 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Stanislaus landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public college with a large student population.

Read full report on Social Work at California State University - Stanislaus

California State University - Fresno came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

Full Social Work at California State University - Fresno Report

California State University - East Bay landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social work programs. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.

Read full report on Social Work at California State University - East Bay

With a ranking of #8, California State University - Monterey Bay did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. CSUMB is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Seaside.

Full Social Work at California State University - Monterey Bay Report

California State University - Long Beach 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 #9 on the list. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Social Work at California State University - Long Beach

#10

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. SFSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Read full report on Social Work at San Francisco State University

Best Social Work Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Social Work Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 403
Oregon 306
Nevada 235
Hawaii 97
Alaska 29

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

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 23 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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