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Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

15 Colleges
$44,665 Avg Salary

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

Social Work is one of the most popular subjects to study in Illinois. With 1,812 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 6th out of all the majors we track in the state.

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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 15 schools in Illinois 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.

2023 Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois

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

Top 10 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

Our 2023 rankings named University of Chicago the best school in Illinois for social work students working on their master’s degree. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in Illinois. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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#3

Erikson Institute

Chicago, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Erikson Institute. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. The Erikson Institute is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Full Social Work at Erikson Institute Report

#4

Aurora University

Aurora, IL

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Aurora University is a great place for social work students working on their master’s degree. Aurora is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Aurora.

Full Social Work at Aurora University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Loyola University Chicago. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full Social Work at Loyola University Chicago Report

With a ranking of #6, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. UIC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Chicago.

Full Social Work at University of Illinois at Chicago Report

#7

Dominican University

River Forest, IL

Dominican University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social work programs. Located in the large suburb of River Forest, Dominican U is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Social Work at Dominican University

Illinois 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 #8 on the list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. SIUE is a large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

Full Social Work at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Report

With a ranking of #10, University of St Francis did quite well on this year’s best schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Joliet.

Full Social Work at University of St Francis Report

Best Social Work Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Social Work Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 1,332
Ohio 1,001
Indiana 615
Wisconsin 448

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 15 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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