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2025 Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

14 Colleges in Illinois
751 Bachelor's Degrees
$38,002 Avg Early-Career Salary
Social Work is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #24 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 14 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of social work. Combined, these schools handed out 751 bachelor's degrees in social work to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Social Work School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois Your choice of social work for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. 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 bachelor'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 college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination 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 bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor'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.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for social work students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Social Work Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Social Work Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 the Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Social Work in Illinois

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in social work.

10 Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in Social Work

1
87 Annual Graduates
$36,815 Median Starting Salary
$34,511 Median Student Debt

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in social work has to look into University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the social work program report average early career wages of $36,815.

More information about a bachelor’s in social work from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2
56 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Loyola University Chicago if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in social work. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a bachelor’s in social work from Loyola University Chicago

3
Aurora crest
Aurora University
Aurora, IL
175 Annual Graduates
$38,382 Median Starting Salary
$19,500 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat Aurora University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in social work. Aurora is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Aurora.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the social work program make around $38,382 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in social work from Aurora University

4
49 Annual Graduates
$39,041 Median Starting Salary
$18,886 Median Student Debt

Illinois State University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in social work. Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the social work program report average early career earnings of $39,041.

More information about a bachelor’s in social work from Illinois State University

5

Located in the large city of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the social work program state that they receive average early career wages of $39,178.

More information about a bachelor’s in social work from Northeastern Illinois University

6
34 Annual Graduates
$36,974 Median Starting Salary
$19,178 Median Student Debt

SIUE is a large public university located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

After graduation, social work bachelor's recipients generally make around $36,974 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in social work from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

7

Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the social work program state that they receive average early career wages of $39,641.

More information about a bachelor’s in social work from Western Illinois University

8

Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Peoria.

Soon after graduating, social work bachelor's recipients typically make an average of $36,017 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in social work from Bradley University

9
37 Annual Graduates
$34,664 Median Starting Salary
$17,341 Median Student Debt

Located in the town of Carbondale, SIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the social work program earn an average of $34,664 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in social work from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

10

Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the social work program state that they receive average early career wages of $31,720.

More information about a bachelor’s in social work from Olivet Nazarene University

Best Social Work Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Social Work Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 1,039
Ohio 252 1,135
Indiana 235 909
Wisconsin 213 593

View All Rankings >

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Social Work Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 751

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