by our College Data Analytics Team
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Social Work is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 9th of all the majors we analyze. In 2020-2021, 57,401 degrees were awarded to students with this major.
At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 32,079 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,425 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major” ranking looked at 320 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in social work. That schools that top this list have a program in social work in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most 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.
The colleges and universities below are the best for master’s degree social work students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Our Lady of the Lake University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major. San Antonio, Texas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s social work degrees to 309 students in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Erikson Institute. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Chicago, 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 39 students in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Simmons University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. This medium-sized school is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and it awarded 551 masters’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Out of the 320 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Aurora University landed the #4 spot on the list. Aurora, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s social work degrees to 478 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 320 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Brescia University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Owensboro, Kentucky, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 41 degrees to qualified masters’s social work students in 2020-2021.
Western New Mexico University ranked #6 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Located in Silver City, New Mexico, this small public school handed out 138 diplomas to qualified masters’s social work students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Social Work at Western New Mexico University
Fordham University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Located in Bronx, New York, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 1,036 degrees to qualified masters’s social work 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Southern University at New Orleans came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. This small school is located in New Orleans, Louisiana, and it awarded 64 masters’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
Walla Walla University landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. College Place, Washington is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s social work degrees to 82 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Maryland - Baltimore landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, this medium-sized public school handed out 411 degrees to qualified masters’s social work students in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 more about Social Work at University of Maryland - Baltimore
With a ranking of #11, Widener University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Widener is a medium-sized school located in Chester, Pennsylvania that handed out 263 masters’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Johnson C Smith University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking, coming in at #12. Johnson C Smith University is a small school located in Charlotte, North Carolina that handed out 40 masters’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
Bryn Mawr College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Bryn Mawr is a small school located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania that handed out 65 masters’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, 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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania ranked #14 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. This small school is located in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 166 masters’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
Smith College landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Northampton, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s social work degrees to 121 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Spring Arbor University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking, coming in at #16. Spring Arbor is located in Spring Arbor, Michigan and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 126 masters’s social work degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Concord University ranked #17 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Concord University is a small public school situated in Athens, West Virginia. It awarded 53 masters’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
Springfield College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 100 diplomas to qualified masters’s social work students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Yeshiva University landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. This medium-sized school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 231 masters’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
With a ranking of #20, University of New England did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. UNE is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Biddeford, Maine. It awarded 170 masters’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Hunter College came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Located in New York, New York, this large public school awarded 622 degrees to qualified masters’s social work students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Alabama A & M University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Located in Normal, Alabama, this medium-sized public school handed out 84 diplomas to qualified masters’s social work students in 2020-2021.
University of Denver came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major ranking. Denver, Colorado 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 500 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% 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%.
With a ranking of #24, Marywood University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Marywood is located in Scranton, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 74 masters’s social work degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%.
Clarke University ranked #25 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major list. Clarke University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Dubuque, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 23 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%.
Not only did these schools make the top 49 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
