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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in Iowa

10 Ranked Colleges
271 Degrees Awarded
$20,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor's in Iowa

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Social Work is the 12th most popular major in the country with 57,618 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, social work graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,459 and had an average of $30,084 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 465 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,950 and $28,476 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 271 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in social work. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great social work programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the social work program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Social Work Schools

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 “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in Iowa

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Iowa landed the #1 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and it awarded 72 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI also took the #1 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $15,620 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students per year to attend UNI.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at University of Northern Iowa

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa. This large school is located in Iowa City, Iowa, and it awarded 54 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa also made our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa is $19,145 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Iowa Social Work Report

#3

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, Iowa

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Briar Cliff University landed the #3 spot on the list. Sioux City, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s social work degrees to 42 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Briar Cliff, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Briar Cliff University is $20,604 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students.

Read more about Social Work at Briar Cliff

#4

Loras College

Dubuque, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Loras College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Located in Dubuque, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 19 degrees to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Loras, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Loras is $20,676 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Work at Loras College

#5

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa
#10 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Grand View University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 15 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree social work students list, Grand View University has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $19,826 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students per year to attend Grand View University.

Read full report on Social Work at Grand View University

#6

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa

Dordt University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 14 degrees to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2019-2020.

Dordt also made our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for Dordt University is $25,102 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at Dordt University

#7

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Mount Mercy University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking. Cedar Rapids, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s social work degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree social work students list, Mount Mercy has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $20,857 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students per year to attend Mount Mercy University.

The low student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Mount Mercy Social Work Report

#8

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, Iowa

Buena Vista University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking, coming in at #8. BVU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Storm Lake, Iowa. It awarded 7 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

BVU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $17,544 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students per year to attend Buena Vista University.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Social Work at BVU

#9

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa

Luther College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Decorah, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 12 degrees to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2019-2020.

Luther did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $23,620 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students per year to attend Luther College.

The low student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Work at Luther College

#10

Wartburg College

Waverly, Iowa

Wartburg College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Wartburg College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Waverly, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Wartburg also made our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #8. The yearly cost to attend Wartburg is $21,787 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Work at Wartburg College

Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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