2025 Best Social Work Master's Degree Schools in Ohio
Social Work is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #3 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
College Factual reviewed 10 schools in Ohio to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of social work. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,084 master's degrees in social work during the 2022-2023 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Social Work School for Your Master's Degree
The social work master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality social work program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Earnings
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on social work students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of social work students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for social work to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized social work related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for social work students working on their master's degree.
More Ways to Rank Social Work Schools
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 Master's Degree Schools in Ohio list, to help you choose the best school for you.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Social Work in Ohio
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in social work.
10 Top Ohio Schools for a Master's in Social Work
Ohio State University - Main Campus is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in social work. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population.
Students who graduate with their master's from the social work program state that they receive average early career income of $50,524.
More information about a master’s in social work from Ohio State University - Main Campus
Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in social work needs to look into University of Cincinnati - Main Campus. Located in the city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their master's from the social work program state that they receive average early career earnings of $49,097.
More information about a master’s in social work from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
It is difficult to beat Ohio University - Athens Campus if you want to pursue a master's degree in social work. Located in the distant town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Master's students who receive their degree from the social work program earn about $49,246 in their early career salary.
More information about a master’s in social work from Ohio University - Athens Campus
Cleveland State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in social work. Cleveland State University is a fairly large public university located in the city of Cleveland.
Students who graduate with their master's from the social work program state that they receive average early career earnings of $47,766.
More information about a master’s in social work from Cleveland State University
University of Toledo is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Toledo.
After graduation, social work master's recipients usually earn about $47,874 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a master’s in social work from University of Toledo
Youngstown State University is a large public university located in the city of Youngstown.
Soon after graduating, social work master's recipients generally earn an average of $50,407 in their early careers.
More information about a master’s in social work from Youngstown State University
Located in the fringe town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a large student population.
Soon after graduation, social work master's recipients generally make an average of $51,328 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a master’s in social work from Miami University - Oxford
Located in the city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Soon after graduation, social work master's recipients generally make an average of $46,850 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a master’s in social work from University of Akron Main Campus
Located in the town of Bowling Green, BGSU is a public university with a large student population.
Master's recipients from the social work program at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus get $2,510 above the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a master’s in social work from Bowling Green State University - Main Campus
Located in the large suburb of Dayton, Wright State University - Main Campus is a public university with a medium-sized student population.
Students who graduate with their master's from the social work program report average early career wages of $50,016.
More information about a master’s in social work from Wright State University - Main Campus
