2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work
88
Ranked Colleges
680
Degrees Awarded
$68,493
Avg Salary
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 58,326 people earned their degree in social work, making the major the 13th most popular in the United States. 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.
At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 680 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,260 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major” ranking looked at 88 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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 Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major” list to help you make the college decision.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major
The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree social work students.
Top 25 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work
Out of the 88 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #1 spot on the list. USC is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 193 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Social Work at University of Southern California
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Smith College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Smith is a private not-for-profit institution located in Northampton, Massachusetts. The school has a small population, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Social Work at Smith
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Clark Atlanta University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Clark Atlanta University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Atlanta, Georgia. It awarded 5 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Social Work at CAU
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Connecticut State University. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major. This medium-sized school is located in New Haven, Connecticut, and it awarded 14 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Social Work at SCSU
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of St Thomas Minnesota. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. UST MN is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It awarded 18 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Social Work at University of St Thomas Minnesota
Yeshiva University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. This medium-sized school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 10 doctorate’s social work 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 90%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read more about Social Work at Yeshiva University
Capella University ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Capella University is a private for-profit institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 69 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Capella University Social Work Report
Aurora University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Aurora is located in Aurora, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9 doctorate’s social work degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.2% 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 more about Social Work at Aurora
Adelphi University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking, coming in at #9. Garden City, New York 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 9 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Social Work at Adelphi University
Walden University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Walden University is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 40 doctorate’s social work degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Walden University Social Work Report
Tulane University of Louisiana did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking, coming in at #11. Tulane is located in New Orleans, Louisiana and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 14 doctorate’s social work degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Social Work at Tulane University of Louisiana
Morgan State University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Baltimore, Maryland is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s social work degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Social Work at Morgan State
With a ranking of #13, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, this medium-sized public school handed out 5 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s social work students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Social Work at Kutztown University
The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. UT Knoxville is a large school located in Knoxville, Tennessee that handed out 19 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. 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%.
Full UT Knoxville Social Work Report
Norfolk State University landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Norfolk State is a medium-sized public school situated in Norfolk, Virginia. It awarded 2 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Social Work at Norfolk State University
University of Maryland - Baltimore came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. University of Maryland - Baltimore is a medium-sized public school situated in Baltimore, Maryland. It awarded 6 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full University of Maryland - Baltimore Social Work Report
Bryn Mawr College ranked #17 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 1 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s social work students in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 Bryn Mawr
Boston College landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. This fairly large school is located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and it awarded 9 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Social Work at Boston College
Millersville University of Pennsylvania landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Millersville University of Pennsylvania is a medium-sized public school situated in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It awarded 3 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Millersville University of Pennsylvania Social Work Report
University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras ranked #20 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Located in San Juan, , this fairly large public school handed out 4 degrees to qualified doctorate’s social work students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Social Work at UPR Rio Piedras
University of Pennsylvania ranked #21 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. UPenn is a large school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 17 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.
Full UPenn Social Work Report
With a ranking of #22, Fordham University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Located in Bronx, New York, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 9 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s social work students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Social Work at Fordham University
The Graduate Center, CUNY landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. The Graduate Center, CUNY is a medium-sized school located in New York, New York that handed out 4 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Social Work at The Graduate Center, CUNY
With a ranking of #24, Jackson State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Located in Jackson, Mississippi, this medium-sized public school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s social work students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Social Work at Jackson State University
Case Western Reserve University ranked #25 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Cleveland, Ohio 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 5 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Read full report on Social Work at Case Western Reserve University
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