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 9 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Social Work Schools in Virginia ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,010 degrees in social work to qualified students.
The social work program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Social Work rankings. 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.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Social Work Schools in Virginia ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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.
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.
Every student pursuing a degree in social work needs to take a look at Virginia Commonwealth University. VCU is a very large public university located in the city of Richmond. A Best Colleges rank of #240 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means VCU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 307 social work students who graduated with this degree at VCU in the most recent year we have data available. Those social work students who get their degree from Virginia Commonwealth University earn $2,496 more than the standard social work grad.
George Mason University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in social work. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #117 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means GMU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 128 social work students who graduated with this degree at GMU in the most recent year we have data available. Those social work students who get their degree from George Mason University earn $6,678 more than the standard social work graduate.
Any student who is interested in social work has to look into James Madison University. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #169 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means JMU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 57 social work students who graduated with this degree at JMU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the social work program state that they receive average early career earnings of $31,086.
Liberty University is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in social work. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Lynchburg. A Best Colleges rank of #352 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Liberty University is a great university overall.
There were roughly 192 social work students who graduated with this degree at Liberty University in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the social work program state that they receive average early career wages of $31,302.
Located in the suburb of Radford, Radford is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were roughly 92 social work students who graduated with this degree at Radford in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the social work program state that they receive average early career income of $37,339.
Located in the medium-sized city of Newport News, CNU is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 17th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were approximately 22 social work students who graduated with this degree at CNU in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the social work program earn around $31,721 in their early career salary.
Located in the city of Staunton, Mary Baldwin is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 36th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were roughly 25 social work students who graduated with this degree at Mary Baldwin in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the social work program state that they receive average early career earnings of $34,555.
Norfolk State is a moderately-sized public university located in the medium-sized city of Norfolk. This university ranks 47th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were about 91 social work students who graduated with this degree at Norfolk State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the social work program report average early career wages of $35,463.
Located in the suburb of Petersburg, Virginia State is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 60th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were about 35 social work students who graduated with this degree at Virginia State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the social work program earn around $29,882 in their early career salary.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Credit for the banner image above goes to Army Medicine.
college factual
The social work program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Social Work rankings. 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.
