2024 Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia
Ranked #24 in popularity,
social work is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 9 schools in Virginia to determine which ones were the best for social work students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 636 bachelor's degrees in social work during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Social Work School for Your Bachelor's Degree
The social work bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to social work students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other social work students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How much debt social work students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized social work related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for social work students working on their bachelor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 the Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Social Work in Virginia
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in social work.
Top Virginia Schools for a Bachelor's in Social Work
Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in social work has to look into Virginia Commonwealth University. Located in the midsize city of Richmond, VCU is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the social work program earn around $32,157 in their early career salary.
More information about a bachelor’s in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University
George Mason University is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in social work. GMU is a very large public university located in the suburb of Fairfax.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the social work program earn an average of $33,725 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a bachelor’s in social work from George Mason University
Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in social work needs to take a look at James Madison University. JMU is a very large public university located in the city of Harrisonburg.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the social work program make around $31,086 for their early career.
More information about a bachelor’s in social work from James Madison University
Liberty University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in social work. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the social work program make about $31,302 for their early career.
More information about a bachelor’s in social work from Liberty University
Radford is a moderately-sized public university located in the suburb of Radford.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the social work program state that they receive average early career wages of $30,821.
More information about a bachelor’s in social work from Radford University