Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Social Work Doctor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Social Work Doctor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

8 Colleges
$28,221 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$68,493 Avg Salary

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

With 33,631 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, social work is the #6 most popular major in the United States.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Social Work Doctor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 8 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best value doctor's degree 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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Check out the social work doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Best Plains States Region Schools for Affordable Quality for a Doctorate in Social Work

#1

Capella University

Minneapolis, MN

Our analysis found Capella University to be the best value school for social work students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the Plains States Region . Located in the city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Capella University are $14,784 a year.

Full Social Work at Capella University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of St Thomas Minnesota. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, UST MN is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

UST MN graduate students pay an average of $23,736 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Social Work at University of St Thomas Minnesota Report

#4

Saint Louis University

Saint Louis, MO

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Saint Louis University is a great value for social work students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Saint Louis, SLU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at SLU are $22,614 per year.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public school with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UMN Twin Cities are $29,262 per year.

Full Social Work at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Report

#6

University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS

With a ranking of #6, University of Kansas did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Lawrence, KU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

KU graduate students pay an average of $25,007 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Social Work at University of Kansas Report

University of Missouri - Columbia landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree social work programs. Mizzou is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Columbia.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Mizzou are $28,550 a year.

Read More…

Washington University in St Louis landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree social work programs. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

WUSTL graduate students pay an average of $58,288 in tuition and fees each year.

WUSTL also claimed a spot on our Best Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Full Social Work at Washington University in St Louis Report

Best Social Work Colleges by State

Explore the best social work colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 533
Minnesota 1,484
Iowa 225
Kansas 337
Nebraska 106
North Dakota 74
South Dakota 0

Social Work is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.

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 8 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.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.