2023 Most Focused Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in California
23
Ranked Colleges
1,514
Degrees Awarded
$34,104
Avg Salary
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California” ranking.
Social Work is the 13th most popular major in the country with 58,326 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, social work graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $37,651 and had an average of $26,679 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 4,819 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $48,229 and $20,404 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,514 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,566 and $21,995 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California” ranking, we looked at 23 colleges that offer a degree in social work. That schools that top this list have a program in social work in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Social Work Schools
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California” list to help you make the college decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California
The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree social work students.
Top 23 Most Focused Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in California
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Fresno Pacific University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California list. Fresno, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s social work degrees to 210 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Fresno Pacific Social Work Report
Out of the 23 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, La Sierra University landed the #2 spot on the list. La Sierra University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 26 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad 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%.
Full La Sierra University Social Work Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brandman University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California. This medium-sized school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 132 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Brandman Social Work Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Humboldt State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California list. Humboldt State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Arcata, California. It awarded 64 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Social Work at Humboldt State University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Los Angeles. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 198 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full California State University - Los Angeles Social Work Report
California State University - Sacramento landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California ranking. This large school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 210 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full California State University - Sacramento Social Work Report
With a ranking of #7, Mount Saint Mary’s University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California list. Mount Saint Mary’s University is a small school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 18 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full MSMU Social Work Report
California State University - Fresno did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California ranking, coming in at #8. Fresno State is a public institution located in Fresno, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 130 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Read more about Social Work at California State University - Fresno
With a ranking of #9, Pacific Union College did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California list. Pacific Union College is located in Angwin, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 bachelors’s social work degrees to qualified students.
Full Pacific Union College Social Work Report
Whittier College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California ranking. Whittier is a private not-for-profit institution located in Whittier, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Whittier Social Work Report
California State University - Chico ranked #11 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California list. Chico State is located in Chico, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 76 bachelors’s social work degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full California State University - Chico Social Work Report
Touro University Worldwide ranked #12 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California list. Los Alamitos, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s social work degrees to 12 students in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Social Work at Touro University Worldwide
Azusa Pacific University ranked #13 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California list. Azusa Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Azusa, California. It awarded 34 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Social Work at Azusa Pacific University
California State University - San Bernardino landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California ranking. San Bernardino, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s social work degrees to 51 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Social Work at California State University - San Bernardino
Point Loma Nazarene University ranked #15 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California list. Point Loma Nazarene University is a small school located in San Diego, California that handed out 13 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.0% 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 PLNU
San Diego State University ranked #16 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California list. San Diego State University is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 97 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Full SDSU Social Work Report
California State University - Long Beach came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California ranking. CSULB is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 65 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 California State University - Long Beach
University of California - Berkeley ranked #18 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California list. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 79 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Social Work at University of California - Berkeley
San Jose State University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California ranking. San Jose State is a large public school situated in San Jose, California. It awarded 49 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
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 undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Social Work at San Jose State University
San Francisco State University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California ranking. San Francisco State University is a large public school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 25 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad 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 SFSU Social Work Report
Chapman University landed the #21 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California ranking. Chapman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Orange, California. It awarded 8 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Social Work at Chapman University
California State University - East Bay ranked #22 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California list. Located in Hayward, California, this fairly large public school handed out 3 degrees to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Social Work at California State University - East Bay
California Baptist University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in California ranking, coming in at #23. Cal Baptist is located in Riverside, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 108 bachelors’s social work degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Social Work at California Baptist University
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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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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