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Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

23 Colleges
$12,068 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$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.

The Best Value Social Work Master's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 23 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master'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. 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 Master’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for social work majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 10 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found San Jose State University to be the best value school for social work students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.

San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $9,286 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Fresno helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social work schools in California. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fresno.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Fresno State are $8,087 per year.

Full Social Work at California State University - Fresno Report

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means California State University - East Bay is a great value for social work students working on their master’s degree. Cal State East Bay is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal State East Bay are $8,429 a year.

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

Out of the 23 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSULB are $8,280 per year.

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Out of the 23 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Monterey Bay landed the # 5 spot on the list. CSUMB is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Seaside.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUMB are $8,652 a year.

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

California State University - Stanislaus ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the small suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Stan State are $9,078 a year.

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#7

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California list. SFSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SFSU are $8,738 per year.

Full Social Work at San Francisco State University Report

California State University - Los Angeles landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social work programs. Cal State LA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Cal State LA graduate students pay an average of $8,219 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

With a ranking of #9, California State University - Sacramento did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Sac State are $8,826 a year.

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

With a ranking of #9, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 per year.

Full Social Work at California State University - Fullerton Report

Best Value Social Work Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Social Work Colleges 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.

  • 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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