College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2023 Most Focused Colleges for Social Work in Iowa

17 Ranked Colleges
553 Degrees Awarded
$30,000 Avg Cost*
Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Iowa, there were 553 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,608 and $36,729 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa” ranking, we looked at 17 colleges that offer a degree in social work. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their social work program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.

For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Social Work Schools

Rankings by Degree Other Award Levels
Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Social Work Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. 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 Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa social work students.

Top 17 Most Focused Colleges for Social Work in Iowa

1
Clarke crest
Clarke University
Dubuque, Iowa

Out of the 17 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Clarke University landed the #1 spot on the list. Clarke University is a small school located in Dubuque, Iowa that handed out 31 ’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Social Work at Clarke

2
Briar Cliff crest
Briar Cliff University
Sioux City, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Briar Cliff University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa. Briar Cliff is located in Sioux City, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 29 ’s social work degrees to qualified students.

Read full report on Social Work at Briar Cliff

3
St. Ambrose University crest
Saint Ambrose University
Davenport, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Ambrose University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa list. Located in Davenport, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 72 degrees to qualified ’s social work students 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%.

Full Saint Ambrose University Social Work Report

4
Loras crest
Loras College
Dubuque, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Loras College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa list. This small school is located in Dubuque, Iowa, and it awarded 18 ’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% 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 Loras

5
Luther crest
Luther College
Decorah, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Luther College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa list. Decorah, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s social work degrees to 19 students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Luther Social Work Report

6
UNI crest
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa

With a ranking of #6, University of Northern Iowa did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa list. University of Northern Iowa is a public institution located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 121 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at University of Northern Iowa

7
Wartburg crest
Wartburg College
Waverly, Iowa

Wartburg College landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa ranking. Wartburg is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Waverly, Iowa. It awarded 12 ’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.9% 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%.

Read more about Social Work at Wartburg College

8
Grand View University crest
Grand View University
Des Moines, Iowa

Grand View University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa ranking, coming in at #8. This small school is located in Des Moines, Iowa, and it awarded 22 ’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Social Work at Grand View University

9
Mount Mercy crest
Mount Mercy University
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

With a ranking of #9, Mount Mercy University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa list. Mount Mercy is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 21 ’s social work degrees to qualified students.

Read full report on Social Work at Mount Mercy

10
NWC crest
Northwestern College
Orange City, Iowa

Northwestern College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa ranking, coming in at #10. NWC is located in Orange City, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9 ’s social work degrees to qualified students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Northwestern College Social Work Report

11
Dordt crest
Dordt University
Sioux Center, Iowa

Dordt University ranked #11 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa list. Sioux Center, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s social work degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.

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 Dordt University

12
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

University of Iowa came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa ranking. Iowa is located in Iowa City, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 174 ’s social work degrees to qualified students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 Iowa Social Work Report

13

Iowa Central Community College landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa ranking. Iowa Central Community College is a medium-sized school located in Fort Dodge, Iowa that handed out 14 ’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Social Work at Iowa Central Community College

14
BVU crest
Buena Vista University
Storm Lake, Iowa

With a ranking of #14, Buena Vista University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa list. This small school is located in Storm Lake, Iowa, and it awarded 2 ’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.1% 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Social Work at BVU

15
Kirkwood Community College crest
Kirkwood Community College
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Kirkwood Community College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa ranking, coming in at #15. Located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this fairly large public school awarded 0 diplomas to qualified ’s social work students in 2020-2021.

Read more about Social Work at Kirkwood Community College

15

Northeast Iowa Community College ranked #15 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa list. NICC is a public institution located in Calmar, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Social Work at Northeast Iowa Community College

15

Eastern Iowa Community College District did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Iowa ranking, coming in at #15. This medium-sized school is located in Davenport, Iowa, and it awarded 0 ’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Social Work at Eastern Iowa Community College District

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

Credits

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options