2024 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in District of Columbia

Ranked #3 in popularity, social work is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools in District of Columbia to determine which ones were the best for social work students pursuing a master's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 205 master's degrees in social work during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on social work students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of social work students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for social work to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized social work related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for social work students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Social Work Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in District of Columbia list, to help you choose the best school for you.

 

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Social Work in District of Columbia

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for social work students seeking a a master's degree.

Top District of Columbia Schools for a Master's in Social Work

1

Howard University
Washington, DC

69 Annual Graduates

$53,307 Median Starting Salary

Howard University is a wonderful option for students pursuing a master's degree in social work. Howard is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.

Those social work students who get their master's degree from Howard University receive $7,418 more than the standard social work grad.

More information about a master’s in social work from Howard University

2

Gallaudet University
Washington, DC

16 Annual Graduates

$38,472 Median Starting Salary

Gallaudet University is a great choice for students pursuing a master's degree in social work. Gallaudet is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.

Students who graduate with their master's from the social work program report average early career income of $38,472.

More information about a master’s in social work from Gallaudet University

Best Social Work Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Social Work Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
New York	261	4,471
Pennsylvania	248	1,292
Maryland	193	683
New Jersey	188	1,095
Delaware	109	67

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Social Work

One of 0 majors within the <nil> area of study, Social Work has other similar majors worth exploring.

Social Work Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Social Work	205

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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.