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2024 Best Social Work Schools in Illinois

20 Colleges in Illinois
2,719 Social Work Degrees Awarded
If you pursue a degree in social work, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #9 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 20 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of social work. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,719 degrees in social work during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Social Work School

Best Social Work Schools in Illinois 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. For our Best Overall Social Work School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that 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.

Pick Your Social Work Degree Level

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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Social Work Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for Social Work in Illinois

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the social work degree levels they offer.

10 Top Illinois Schools in Social Work

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In IL
175 Social Work Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat University of Chicago if you wish to pursue a degree in social work. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were about 175 social work students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year.

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

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In IL
226 Social Work Degrees Awarded

It's difficult to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you want to pursue a degree in social work. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign. 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 data year.

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

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL
317 Social Work Degrees Awarded

Loyola University Chicago is a wonderful decision for students interested in a degree in social work. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were about 317 social work students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent data year.

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
1st Most Popular In IL
712 Social Work Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in social work has to look into Aurora University. Aurora is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Aurora. A Best Colleges rank of #354 out of 2,217 colleges 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 year we have data available.

More information about a degree in social work from Aurora University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IL
251 Social Work Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 251 social work students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent year we have data available.

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

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In IL
88 Social Work Degrees Awarded

Illinois State is a very large public university located in the suburb of Normal. A Best Colleges rank of #231 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 88 social work students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year.

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
10th Most Popular In IL
73 Social Work Degrees Awarded

Located in the large suburb of River Forest, Dominican U is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 30th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 73 social work students who graduated with this degree at Dominican U in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in social work from Dominican University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15th Most Popular In IL
35 Social Work Degrees Awarded

Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais. 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 year we have data available.

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

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In IL
64 Social Work Degrees Awarded

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

There were about 64 social work students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent data year.

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

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
16th Most Popular In IL

University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Joliet. A Best Colleges rank of #432 out of 2,217 colleges 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.

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 Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Ohio 939 2,332
Michigan 915 2,369
Indiana 737 1,323
Wisconsin 672 1,009

View All Rankings >

One of 3 majors within the Social Work area of study, Social Work has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Other Social Work 1

View All Social Work Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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