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2024 Best Social Work Schools in Illinois

20 Colleges in Illinois
2,720 Social Work Degrees Awarded
$37,486 Avg Early-Career Salary
Social Work is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #13 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 20 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Social Work Schools in Illinois ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 2,720 degrees in social work to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Social Work School

Best Social Work Schools in Illinois Your choice of social work school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for social work schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Social Work Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Social Work
Master's Degrees in Social Work
Doctor's Degrees in Social Work

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 Best Social Work Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Social Work in Illinois

The schools below may not offer all types of social work degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Illinois Schools in Social Work

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
175 Social Work Degrees Awarded
$44,819 Median Starting Salary

University of Chicago is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in social work. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 175 social work students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social work program at University of Chicago make $7,333 above the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in social work from University of Chicago

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
226 Social Work Degrees Awarded
$40,501 Median Starting Salary

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in social work. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were about 226 social work students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Social Work degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign receive an earnings boost of around $3,015 over the typical income of social work majors.

More information about a degree in social work from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
317 Social Work Degrees Awarded
2.2% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in social work needs to look into Loyola University Chicago. Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 317 social work students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available. Social Work degree recipients from Loyola University Chicago get an earnings boost of around $5,357 over the average earnings of social work graduates.

More information about a degree in social work from Loyola University Chicago

4
Aurora crest
Aurora University
Aurora, IL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
712 Social Work Degrees Awarded
9.8% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat Aurora University if you want to pursue a degree in social work. Located in the large suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #354 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Aurora is a great university overall.

There were approximately 712 social work students who graduated with this degree at Aurora in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the social work program report average early career income of $37,201.

More information about a degree in social work from Aurora University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
251 Social Work Degrees Awarded
1.2% Growth in Graduates

UIC is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were about 251 social work students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year. Social Work degree recipients from University of Illinois at Chicago get an earnings boost of around $7,048 over the average earnings of social work graduates.

More information about a degree in social work from University of Illinois at Chicago

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
88 Social Work Degrees Awarded
11.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #231 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 88 social work students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, social work degree recipients generally make around $34,581 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in social work from Illinois State University

7
Dominican U crest
Dominican University
River Forest, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
74 Social Work Degrees Awarded
$42,146 Median Starting Salary

Dominican U is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of River Forest. This university ranks 30th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 74 social work students who graduated with this degree at Dominican U in the most recent data year. Those social work students who get their degree from Dominican University make $4,660 more than the average social work grad.

More information about a degree in social work from Dominican University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
35 Social Work Degrees Awarded
40.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais, Olivet Nazarene is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 33rd out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 35 social work students who graduated with this degree at Olivet Nazarene in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the social work program report average early career earnings of $29,995.

More information about a degree in social work from Olivet Nazarene University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
64 Social Work Degrees Awarded
$35,790 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 31st out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 64 social work students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the social work program make around $35,790 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in social work from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$38,092 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #432 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means University of Saint Francis is a great university overall.

There were roughly 29 social work students who graduated with this degree at University of Saint Francis in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the social work program earn an average of $38,092 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in social work from University of St Francis


 

Best Social Work Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Social Work Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 2,369
Ohio 314 2,332
Indiana 294 1,544
Wisconsin 273 1,039

View All Rankings >

One of 0 majors within the <nil> area of study, Social Work has other similar majors worth exploring.

Social Work Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 2,719
Other Social Work 1

View All Social Work Focus Areas >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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