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2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

14 Ranked Colleges
1,729 Degrees Awarded
$21,900 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master's in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

With 56,762 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, social work is the 8th most popular major in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 2,650 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 1,729 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in social work. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great social work programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the social work program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

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 Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 14 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Social Work (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 199 masters’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548.

Read more about Social Work at University of Chicago

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. UIUC is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 151 masters’s social work degrees to qualified students.

UIUC also took the #3 spot in our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Social Work at UIUC

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 248 masters’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC also made our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Social Work at University of Illinois at Chicago

#9 in overall quality

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #4 spot on the list. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a fairly large school located in Edwardsville, Illinois that handed out 29 masters’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville are $9,300.

Read full report on Social Work at SIUE

#5

Governors State University

University Park, Illinois
#13 in overall quality

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Governors State University landed the #5 spot on the list. This small school is located in University Park, Illinois, and it awarded 48 masters’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

GSU also took the #13 spot in our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Governors State University are $14,674.

Read full report on Social Work at Governors State University

#6

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Aurora University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Aurora is located in Aurora, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 460 masters’s social work degrees to qualified students.

Aurora did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Aurora are $13,200.

Read more about Social Work at Aurora

#8 in overall quality

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 91 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are $32,928, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Social Work at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#8

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Illinois State University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Illinois State University is a large school located in Normal, Illinois that handed out 27 masters’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois State University are $11,069, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Social Work at Illinois State

#9

University of St Francis

Joliet, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

University of St Francis did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #9. Joliet, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s social work degrees to 26 students in 2019-2020.

University of Saint Francis also made our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of St Francis are $13,839, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Social Work at University of Saint Francis

#10

Dominican University

River Forest, Illinois
#10 in overall quality

Dominican University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Dominican University is located in River Forest, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 77 masters’s social work degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Dominican U, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Dominican U are $20,884, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Social Work at Dominican U

#14 in overall quality

Northeastern Illinois University landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Northeastern Illinois University is a medium-sized public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 42 masters’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Northeastern Illinois University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northeastern Illinois University are $17,032.

Read more about Social Work at Northeastern Illinois University

#12

Chicago State University

Chicago, Illinois
#15 in overall quality

Chicago State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #12. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small public school awarded 24 degrees to qualified masters’s social work students in 2019-2020.

CSU also made our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #15. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at CSU are $15,056.

Read full report on Social Work at Chicago State University

#13

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

With a ranking of #13, Loyola University Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s social work degrees to 249 students in 2019-2020.

Loyola Chicago also took the #2 spot in our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola Chicago are $19,154, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Loyola University Chicago Social Work Report

#14

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#12 in overall quality

DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #14. DePaul University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 15 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree social work students whose families make $0-$30k list, DePaul has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Social Work Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Social Work at DePaul University

Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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