2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k

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 “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 57,618 people earned their degree in social work, making the major the 12th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, social work graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,459 and had an average of $30,084 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 4,949 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $45,770 and $31,817 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 160 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in social work. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality social work programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the social work program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Social Work Schools

The social work school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k”.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work (Income $30-$48k) in California

#1

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California

#2 in overall quality

$29,347 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #1 spot on the list. University of California - Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 4 doctorate’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UC Berkeley Social Work Report

#2

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

#3 in overall quality

$28,131 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$76,460 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Social Work at University of California - Los Angeles

#3

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$48,715 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 152 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s social work students in 2019-2020.

USC also made our “Best Social Work Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at USC are $48,715.

Read full report on Social Work at USC

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work (Income $30-$48k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Army Medicine.

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