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2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region

12 Ranked Colleges
56 Degrees Awarded
$34,600 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region” 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 the Great Lakes region, there were 10,408 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,459 and $27,818 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 56 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,305 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 12 colleges that offered 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.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region”.

Top 12 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in the Great Lakes Region

1
Aurora crest
Aurora University
Aurora, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Aurora University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region. Located in Aurora, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 9 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s social work students in 2020-2021.

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%.

Full Aurora University Social Work Report

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Case Western Reserve University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Case Western is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cleveland, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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%.

Read more about Social Work at Case Western

3
Loyola Chicago crest
Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Loyola University Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Loyola University Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Social Work at Loyola Chicago

4
UChicago crest
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region. 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 6 students in 2020-2021.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Social Work at University of Chicago

5

Out of the 12 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis landed the #5 spot on the list. Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis is a large public school situated in Indianapolis, Indiana. It awarded 5 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at IUPUI

6

With a ranking of #6, University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Wisconsin - Madison is located in Madison, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 doctorate’s social work degrees to qualified students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Social Work at UW - Madison

7

University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school handed out 3 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s social work students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UIC Social Work Report

8

Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #8. Ohio State University - Main Campus is a large school located in Columbus, Ohio that handed out 5 doctorate’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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Ohio State Social Work Report

9
Wayne State crest
Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan

Wayne State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Detroit, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s social work degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Social Work at Wayne State

10
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

Michigan State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Michigan State University is a large public school situated in East Lansing, Michigan. It awarded 3 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Social Work at Michigan State University

11

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 3 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 94%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Social Work Report

12

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s social work degrees to qualified students.

Read more about Social Work at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

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