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Best Value Social Work Schools in Michigan

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2023 Best Value Social Work Schools in Michigan

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

12 Colleges
$19,628 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$35,269 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Work School for You

Social Work is one of the most popular subjects to study in Michigan. With 1,332 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 2nd out of all the majors we track in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Social Work Schools in Michigan to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 12 schools in Michigan to see which programs offered the best value experiences for social work students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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.

2023 Best Value Social Work Schools in Michigan

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Social Work Colleges.

Top 10 Best Social Work Schools

#1

Spring Arbor University

Spring Arbor, MI
$31,080 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Spring Arbor University to be the best value school for social work students who want to pursue a degree in Michigan. Located in the small suburb of Spring Arbor, Spring Arbor is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Spring Arbor are $31,080 per year.

Read full report on Social Work at Spring Arbor University

#2

Ferris State University

Big Rapids, MI
$13,188 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Ferris State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools in Michigan list. Ferris is a large public school located in the distant town of Big Rapids.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ferris are $13,188 per year.

Ferris also took the #5 spot in our Best Social Work Schools in Michigan rankings.

Full Social Work at Ferris State University Report

#3

Saginaw Valley State University

University Center, MI
$11,130 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Saginaw Valley State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in Michigan. Located in the midsize suburb of University Center, Saginaw Valley State University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Saginaw Valley State University are $11,130 per year.

Read full report on Social Work at Saginaw Valley State University

$13,206 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Northern Michigan University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in Michigan. Located in the remote town of Marquette, Northern Michigan University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Northern Michigan University are $13,206 a year.

Read full report on Social Work at Northern Michigan University

$13,900 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Grand Valley State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Social Work Schools in Michigan list. Located in the large suburb of Allendale, GVSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at GVSU are $13,900 per year.

Read More…

$17,193 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value social work programs. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a very large student population.

U-M undergraduate students pay an average of $17,193 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

U-M also made our Best Social Work Schools in Michigan list, coming in at #1.

Read full report on Social Work at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

#7

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI
$15,966 Average Tuition & Fees

Michigan State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools in Michigan list. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Michigan State are $15,966 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Michigan State is ranked #3 for overall quality for social work in Michigan.

Read More…

$13,434 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, Western Michigan University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students. WMU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Kalamazoo.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WMU are $13,434 per year.

Full Social Work at Western Michigan University Report

$15,500 Average Tuition & Fees

Eastern Michigan University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value social work programs. Eastern Michigan is a large public school located in the suburb of Ypsilanti.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Eastern Michigan are $15,500 a year.

Read More…

#10

Madonna University

Livonia, MI
$24,900 Average Tuition & Fees

Madonna University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools in Michigan ranking. Located in the city of Livonia, Madonna is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Madonna are $24,900 per year.

Read More…

Best Value Social Work Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Illinois 1,812
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 12 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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