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Most Popular Social Work Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Social Work Master's Degree Schools in California

25 Colleges
$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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Most Popular Social Work Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 25 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Social Work program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for social work majors pursuing a master's degree.

Our analysis found University of Southern California to be the most popular school for social work students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Women make up 85% of the social work majors at the school.

Read full report on Social Work at University of Southern California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

About 86% of the students majoring in social work at the school are women while 14% are male.

Full Social Work at California State University - Long Beach Report

The in-demand master’s degree programs at San Jose State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular social work schools in California. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 90% of the students majoring in social work at the school are women while 10% are male.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the city of Northridge.

Of the 148 students majoring in social work at CSUN, 16% are male and 84% are female.

Full Social Work at California State University - Northridge Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Los Angeles is a great place for social work students working on their master’s degree. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

About 82% of the students majoring in social work at the school are women while 18% are male.

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

California Baptist University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Riverside, Cal Baptist is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Of the 108 students majoring in social work at Cal Baptist, 12% are male and 88% are female.

Read full report on Social Work at California Baptist University

With a ranking of #7, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on this year’s most popular 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.

Women make up 88% of the social work majors at the school.

Read More…

#8

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree social work programs. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

About 90% of the students majoring in social work at the school are women while 10% are male.

Read More…

California State University - San Bernardino did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social work students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. CSUSB is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of San Bernardino.

About 86% of the students majoring in social work at the school are women while 14% are male.

Read full report on Social Work at California State University - San Bernardino

California State University - Sacramento did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for social work students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Sacramento.

Women make up 95% of the social work majors at the school.

Read More…

Best Social Work Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular Social Work Schools 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 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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