2024 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania
If you pursue a master's degree in
social work, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #3 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 12 schools in Pennsylvania 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 1,292 master's degrees in social work during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Social Work School for Your Master's Degree
Your choice of social work for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to social work students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other social work students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How much debt social work students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- 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 schools for social work students working on their master's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The social work school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Social Work in Pennsylvania
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in social work.
10 Top Pennsylvania Schools for a Master's in Social Work
It is difficult to beat University of Pennsylvania if you want to pursue a master's degree in social work. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's students who receive their degree from the social work program make about $45,778 in their early career salary.
More information about a master’s in social work from University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is a good option for individuals interested in a master's degree in social work. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Pitt is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in social work from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus
Widener University is a good option for students pursuing a master's degree in social work. Widener is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Chester.
Those social work students who get their master's degree from Widener University make $3,164 more than the average social work graduate.
More information about a master’s in social work from Widener University
It's difficult to beat West Chester University of Pennsylvania if you want to pursue a master's degree in social work. WCUPA is a large public university located in the large suburb of West Chester.
Master's recipients from the social work degree program at West Chester University of Pennsylvania make $2,750 above the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in social work from West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public university with a fairly large student population.
After graduating, social work master's recipients usually earn around $44,017 in their early careers.
More information about a master’s in social work from Temple University