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2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in the Plains States Region

9 Ranked Colleges
144 Degrees Awarded
$80,891 Avg Salary
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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 Plains States region, there were 4,791 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,939 and $30,670 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 144 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,829 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region” ranking, we looked at 9 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.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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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 “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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 Plains States Region

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

Top 9 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in the Plains States Region

1
UST MN crest
University of St Thomas Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Out of the 9 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of St Thomas Minnesota landed the #1 spot on the list. UST MN is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 18 doctorate’s social work degrees to qualified students.

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 more about Social Work at University of St Thomas Minnesota

2
Capella University crest
Capella University
Minneapolis, Minnesota

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Capella University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region list. Capella University is a large private for-profit school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It awarded 69 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Social Work at Capella University

3
Walden University crest
Walden University
Minneapolis, Minnesota

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Walden University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region list. Walden University is a private for-profit institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 40 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

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

4
WUSTL crest
Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, Missouri

Out of the 9 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington University in St Louis landed the #4 spot on the list. WUSTL is a fairly large school located in Saint Louis, Missouri that handed out 5 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 impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at WUSTL

5
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

Out of the 9 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Kansas landed the #5 spot on the list. KU is located in Lawrence, Kansas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 doctorate’s social work degrees to qualified students.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Full KU Social Work Report

6
SLU crest
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, Missouri

Saint Louis University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #6. Saint Louis University is a fairly large school located in Saint Louis, Missouri that handed out 1 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.

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%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 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 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full SLU Social Work Report

7

University of Missouri - Columbia came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region ranking. This large school is located in Columbia, Missouri, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s social work 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Read more about Social Work at University of Missouri - Columbia

8

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region ranking. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a large school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 3 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UMN Twin Cities Social Work Report

9
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

University of Iowa landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Social Work Major in the Plains States Region ranking. This large school is located in Iowa City, Iowa, and it awarded 174 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 88%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at Iowa

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