2023 Best Value Social Work Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Social Work 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Social Work Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 289 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value programs for social work students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
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2023 Best Value Social Work Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Value Social Work Colleges.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality in Social Work
Our analysis found Minnesota State University - Mankato to be the best value school for social work students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a large student population.
Minnesota State Mankato undergraduate students pay an average of $18,200 in tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Minnesota State Mankato also did well on our Best Social Work Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Full Social Work at Minnesota State University - Mankato Report
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Spring Arbor University is a great value for social work students. Located in the small suburb of Spring Arbor, Spring Arbor is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Spring Arbor undergraduate students pay an average of $31,080 in tuition and fees each year.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Westfield State University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Westfield, Westfield is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Westfield undergraduate students pay an average of $17,219 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Social Work at Westfield State University
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Brigham Young University - Provo is a great value for social work students. Located in the medium-sized city of Provo, BYU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
BYU undergraduate students pay an average of $6,120 in tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, BYU also did well on our Best Social Work Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Newman University is a great value for social work students. Newman University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Wichita.
Newman University undergraduate students pay an average of $34,460 in tuition and fees each year.
Ferris State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools ranking. Ferris is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Big Rapids.
Ferris undergraduate students pay an average of $13,188 in tuition and fees each year.
Youngstown State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools list. Located in the small city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public school with a large student population.
Youngstown State University undergraduate students pay an average of $9,732 in tuition and fees each year.
Capella University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools ranking. Capella University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the city of Minneapolis.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Capella University are $14,148 a year.
Fort Hays State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value social work programs. Located in the remote town of Hays, FHSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at FHSU are $15,870 per year.
Read full report on Social Work at Fort Hays State University
Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for social work students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the rural area of Marion, IWU is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at IWU are $9,239 per year.
With a ranking of #11, Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students. Located in the city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ASU - Skysong are $13,092 per year.
Anna Maria College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools ranking. Located in the rural area of Paxton, Anna Maria is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Anna Maria are $40,208 per year.
West Texas A&M University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value social work programs. Located in the town of Canyon, West Texas A&M University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at West Texas A&M University are $11,208 per year.
Northeastern State University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools ranking. NSU is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Tahlequah.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NSU are $15,755 per year.
St Catherine University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools ranking. Located in the city of Saint Paul, St. Kate's is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at St. Kate’s are $35,532 per year.
Northwest Nazarene University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value social work programs. NNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Nampa.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NNU are $34,390 per year.
Read full report on Social Work at Northwest Nazarene University
With a ranking of #17, Augsburg University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students. Augsburg is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Minneapolis.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Augsburg are $41,007 a year.
Augsburg also claimed a spot on our Best Social Work Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
With a ranking of #19, Park University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students. Located in the suburb of Parkville, Park University is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Park University are $8,853 a year.
Marywood University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools list. Located in the city of Scranton, Marywood is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Marywood are $37,284 a year.
Saint Cloud State University landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value social work programs. Located in the city of Saint Cloud, St. Cloud State University is a public school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at St. Cloud State University are $18,010 per year.
Read full report on Social Work at Saint Cloud State University
Montclair State University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Montclair, Montclair State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Montclair State are $21,418 per year.
Read full report on Social Work at Montclair State University
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools ranking. SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SIUE are $11,496 a year.
Read full report on Social Work at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
San Jose State University ranked #24 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools list. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $19,732 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, San Jose State is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Social Work Schools list.
Salisbury University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools list. Located in the suburb of Salisbury, Salisbury is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Salisbury undergraduate students pay an average of $20,458 in tuition and fees each year.
Salisbury also claimed a spot on our Best Social Work Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Rest of the Top Best Value Social Work Schools
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great value schools for Social Work graduate students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Social Work Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, CA |
| 45 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
| 46 | Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield, MO |
| 47 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester, PA |
| 47 | University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA |
| 49 | Concord University | Athens, WV |
| 50 | Texas Woman’s University | Denton, TX |
| 51 | California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento, CA |
| 52 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Edinburg, TX |
| 53 | Arkansas State University - Main Campus | Jonesboro, AR |
| 54 | Campbellsville University | Campbellsville, KY |
| 55 | University of North Alabama | Florence, AL |
| 55 | University of Akron Main Campus | Akron, OH |
| 57 | California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton, CA |
Social Work by Region
View the Best Value Social Work 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 Majors for Social Work
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.
- 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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