2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 Illinois, there were 2,654 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,589 and $33,608 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 25 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,900 and $148,219 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in social work. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality social work programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the social work program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois.

Top 4 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in Illinois

#1

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$13,200 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Aurora University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois list. Aurora, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s social work degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

Aurora did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Aurora are $13,200, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Social Work at Aurora University

#2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Social Work at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#3

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$19,154 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loyola University Chicago. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 3 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s social work students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Loyola Chicago, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola Chicago are $19,154, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Social Work at Loyola University Chicago

#4

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$81,702 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s social work degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548.

Read more about Social Work at University of Chicago

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Army Medicine.

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