2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in Illinois
17
Ranked Colleges
1,826
Degrees Awarded
$42,293
Avg Salary
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 in Illinois” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2021-2022, 58,923 people earned their degree in social work, making the major the 13th most popular in the United States. In , social work graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $37,585 and had an average of $29,565 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 2,756 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,233 and $32,228 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 1,826 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $59,827 and $47,424 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois” ranking, we looked at 17 colleges that offer a degree in social work. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their social work program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Social Work Schools
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 in Illinois” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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. 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.
Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois
The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree social work students.
Top 17 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in Illinois
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Erikson Institute. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois. The Erikson Institute is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 21 masters’s social work degrees to qualified students.
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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full Erikson Institute Social Work Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Aurora University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois. Aurora is a medium-sized school located in Aurora, Illinois that handed out 519 masters’s social work degrees in 2021-2022.
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%.
Read full report on Social Work at Aurora University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dominican University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois list. River Forest, 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 98 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Social Work at Dominican University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loyola University Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois. Chicago, Illinois 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 268 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%.
Full Loyola Chicago Social Work Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Chicago State University. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois. CSU is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 16 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Chicago State University Social Work Report
With a ranking of #6, Governors State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois list. Governors State University is located in University Park, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 34 masters’s social work degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Social Work at GSU
Northeastern Illinois University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 63 diplomas to qualified masters’s social work students in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Social Work at Northeastern Illinois University
University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 225 masters’s social work degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Social Work at University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Chicago came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois ranking. University of Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 191 masters’s social work degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 99%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full UChicago Social Work Report
University of St Francis ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois list. University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit institution located in Joliet, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 10 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Social Work at University of Saint Francis
With a ranking of #11, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 59 masters’s social work degrees in 2021-2022.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full SIUC Social Work Report
Lewis University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois ranking. Lewis is a medium-sized school located in Romeoville, Illinois that handed out 28 masters’s social work degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 full report on Social Work at Lewis
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #13 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois list. UIUC is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 173 masters’s social work degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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 freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Social Work at UIUC
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville ranked #14 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois list. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 36 masters’s social work degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Social Work at SIUE
Illinois State University landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois ranking. Located in Normal, Illinois, this large public school awarded 20 degrees to qualified masters’s social work students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Social Work at Illinois State
DePaul University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #16. DePaul is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 27 masters’s social work degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full DePaul Social Work Report
Chamberlain University - Illinois ranked #17 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Social Work Major in Illinois list. Chamberlain University - Illinois is a large school located in Addison, Illinois that handed out 38 masters’s social work degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%.
Full Chamberlain University - Illinois Social Work Report
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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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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
