If you pursue a degree in social work, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #13 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.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 8 schools in Massachusetts to determine which ones were the best for social work students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 2,077 degrees in social work to qualified students.
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.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Social Work Schools in Massachusetts list to help you make the college decision.
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.
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.
Simmons University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in social work. Located in the city of Boston, Simmons is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #68 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Simmons is a great university overall.
There were approximately 526 social work students who graduated with this degree at Simmons in the most recent data year. Those social work students who get their degree from Simmons University earn $11,892 more than the average social work graduate.
It is difficult to beat Bridgewater State University if you wish to pursue a degree in social work. Located in the large suburb of Bridgewater, Bridgewater State is a public university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #452 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Bridgewater State is a great university overall.
There were about 170 social work students who graduated with this degree at Bridgewater State in the most recent data year. Social Work degree recipients from Bridgewater State University receive an earnings boost of around $6,462 over the average earnings of social work graduates.
Westfield State University is a good choice for students interested in a degree in social work. Westfield is a small public university located in the suburb of Westfield. This university ranks 29th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were about 131 social work students who graduated with this degree at Westfield in the most recent year we have data available. Social Work degree recipients from Westfield State University get an earnings boost of about $8,658 above the average earnings of social work majors.
It is hard to beat Salem State University if you wish to pursue a degree in social work. Salem State is a moderately-sized public university located in the large suburb of Salem. A Best Colleges rank of #466 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Salem State is a great university overall.
There were about 176 social work students who graduated with this degree at Salem State in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the social work degree program at Salem State University make $11,377 more than the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Bristol is a moderately-sized public college located in the large suburb of Fall River. This college ranks 46th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were about 29 social work students who graduated with this degree at Bristol in the most recent year we have data available.
Anna Maria is a small private not-for-profit college located in the rural area of Paxton. This college ranks 27th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were about 32 social work students who graduated with this degree at Anna Maria in the most recent data year. Social Work degree recipients from Anna Maria College get an earnings boost of about $13,006 over the average earnings of social work majors.
Elms College is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Chicopee. This college ranks 39th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 46 social work students who graduated with this degree at Elms College in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the social work program make around $40,161 for their early career.
Located in the city of Boston, UMass Boston is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #455 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UMass Boston is a great university overall.
There were about 22 social work students who graduated with this degree at UMass Boston in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the social work program make about $45,227 for their early career.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).
Credit for the banner image above goes to Army Medicine.
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.
