Illinois has 17 CSWE-accredited Bachelor of Social Work programs, the authoritative count from the CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs. The longest-accredited is Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which has held CSWE accreditation since 1974. 5 of the 17 record an online option; the rest are campus-based. 3 are hosted at a Carnegie R1 (very high research) university and 1 at a Carnegie R2 (high research) university.
Each program below is scored on the same five-factor model used in our national ranking, so the order reflects accreditation longevity, delivery and schedule flexibility, program breadth, and the institution's Carnegie research tier, all applied identically nationwide.
Illinois BSW programs at a glance
17
CSWE-accredited BSW programs
1974
Oldest, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, accredited since
5
Offer an online option
4
At an R1 or R2 research university
Illinois's 17 programs span CSWE accreditation from 1974 to 2021, and the highest-scoring on our five-factor model is Aurora University at 8.0 out of 10. The newest, National Louis University, earned accreditation in 2021. Among the Illinois programs we have verified tuition for, published in-state tuition runs from $7,872 to $50,270 a year. A child, family, and school social worker in Illinois earns a median of $63,220 a year, 6% above the national median of $59,550 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
All 17 CSWE-Accredited BSW Programs in Illinois
Every one of these BSW programs in Illinois holds current CSWE accreditation. Status, dates, campus locations and online options come from the CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs, and each card cites its own sources inline. Tuition is shown for reference only and is not factored into the score.
- #1
Aurora University
Aurora, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 1987 · Online or On-Campus
8.0
Online or On-Campus Full & part-time 3 campuses + online 2 certificates Accred. since 1987Why it ranks in Illinois
Aurora University teaches the BSW in Aurora, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Illinois. Two tracks sit inside the major, child welfare and addictions. The addictions track plus a 500-hour placement qualifies graduates to sit for the Illinois CADC exam, while the child welfare track carries CANS certification and CERAP training and opens the Child Welfare Employee License once a student is hired. One placement runs consecutively across fall and spring of the final year and totals 450 hours, drawn from a network of more than 1,300 field sites. Named hosts include Hesed House, World Relief, Senior Services Association, West Aurora High School and state representatives' offices. Published tuition is $29,600 a year at one rate for residents and nonresidents, above the Illinois median of $13,776. It operates more approved teaching sites than any of the BSW programs in Illinois.
Annual tuition (not factored)
$29,600 / year (private, one rate for all students)
2025-26 tuition (12-18 hrs) · aurora.edu
Locations
Aurora, IL (1969-1982; 1987-present); Woodstock, IL (1969-1982; 1987-present); Williams Bay, WI (1969-1982; 1987-present); Online (2018-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 8.2
- Delivery (22%) 9.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 7.0
- #2
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Carbondale, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 1974 · On-Campus
7.9
On-Campus Carnegie R1 Full & part-time 1 campus Accred. since 1974Why it ranks in Illinois
Southern Illinois University Carbondale teaches the BSW in Carbondale, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Illinois. Field runs through the final year as two semesters of practicum, SOCW 440 and 441, each paired with a seminar, totaling 420 clock hours at roughly 13 hours a week. Recent placements include the Carbondale Police Department, the Department of Children and Family Services, Hospice of Southern Illinois and the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. The department places students across a network of more than 140 local agency partners, and graduates move into child welfare and youth services, medical settings, behavioral health care and government agencies. CSWE accreditation dates to 1974, 52 years of unbroken standing, above the Illinois median of 32 years. No other program among the BSW programs in Illinois has held CSWE accreditation longer.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $9,638 · Out-of-state $9,638 / year
Locations
Carbondale, IL (1974-present)
Visit the Southern Illinois University Carbondale BSW program site
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 10.0
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 10.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #3
Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 1976 · On-Campus
7.4
On-Campus Carnegie R1 Full-time 1 campus Accred. since 1976Why it ranks in Illinois
Loyola University Chicago teaches the BSW in Chicago, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Illinois. The single internship falls in the senior year and runs 400 hours minimum across two 3.5-credit courses, normally 13 to 15 hours a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or as a summer block at 35 to 40 hours. Half that time is expected to be direct client service, and students do not run individual or group counseling on their own. Placements are not assigned. Students search the SONIA platform, apply to three to five sites with a resume and cover letter, and interview against candidates from other universities. The school lists more than 1,500 partner agencies across Chicago and the wider metro area, though commutes of an hour or more are possible and go unreimbursed. Published tuition is $50,270 a year at one rate for residents and nonresidents, above the Illinois median of $13,776.
Annual tuition (not factored)
$50,270 / year (private, one rate for all students)
Locations
Chicago, IL (1976-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 10.0
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 10.0
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #4
The University of St. Francis
Joliet, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 1982 · On-Campus
7.0
On-Campus Full & part-time 1 campus 1 certificate Accred. since 1982Why it ranks in Illinois
Based in Joliet, The University of St. Francis is a private university offering a BSW in Illinois. Seniors complete 480 internship hours paired with an integrative seminar, and the department offers two ways to do it: across fall and spring, or as a single summer block running May to early August. Placements come from more than 75 partner agencies, matched one by one with students by the field education director. The liberal arts and social science foundation is framed through the Catholic intellectual tradition of charity, in keeping with the university's Franciscan roots. Required courses stay small, students are regularly pulled into faculty research, and the social work minor draws undergraduates from programs such as education and nursing. Published tuition is $37,000 a year at one rate for residents and nonresidents, above the Illinois median of $13,776.
Annual tuition (not factored)
$37,000 / year (private, one rate for all students)
Locations
Joliet, IL (1982-Present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 9.0
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 5.0
- #5
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 1979 · On-Campus
7.0
On-Campus Full & part-time 1 campus Accred. since 1979Why it ranks in Illinois
Based in Edwardsville, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a public university offering a BSW in Illinois. The practicum spans both semesters of the senior year for 400 hours, at least 200 each term, under a supervisor holding a BSW with two years of post-BSW practice. Students compete for sites the way they would for a job, submitting cover letters and resumes and sitting for individual and group interviews. Retention takes a 2.5 GPA, both English composition courses and an interpersonal communication course passed with a C or better, and a personal statement naming a social justice issue and how the profession's values would address it. Applicants also sign an acknowledgment that the 400-hour practicum will demand reliable transportation and a flexible schedule. CSWE accreditation dates to 1979, 47 years of unbroken standing, above the Illinois median of 32 years.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $8,846 · Out-of-state $8,846 / year
Locations
Edwardsville, IL (1979-present)
Visit the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville BSW program site
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 9.5
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #6
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 2010 · Online or On-Campus
6.8
Online or On-Campus Carnegie R1 Full & part-time 1 campus + online 2 certificates Accred. since 2010Why it ranks in Illinois
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign teaches the BSW in Urbana, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Illinois. Alongside the campus program, an online track lets community college graduates and transfer students who already hold junior standing finish the degree entirely online, with the internship still completed in person at an agency in their own community. The school runs a block placement model. Planning and matching happen inside Professional Practice I, then the placement itself pairs a field seminar with 27 to 29 hours a week at the agency. Every other requirement, general education, major and minor alike, must be finished beforehand, and students take no classes during or after the internship. In-state tuition runs $12,992 a year against $33,344 for nonresidents, below the Illinois median of $13,776.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $12,992 · Out-of-state $33,344 / year
2025-26 tuition & fees, base rate · illinois.edu
Locations
Urbana, IL (2010-present); Online (2022-present)
Visit the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign BSW program site
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 4.6
- Delivery (22%) 7.0
- Prestige (15%) 10.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 7.0
- #7
Illinois State University
Normal, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 1980 · On-Campus
6.8
On-Campus Carnegie R2 Full-time 1 campus Accred. since 1980Why it ranks in Illinois
Illinois State University teaches the BSW in Normal, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Illinois. Prerequisites reach past the usual introductory courses, requiring psychopathology alongside intro psychology and sociology, with a C or better in Introduction to Social Work. Because the program sits in the College of Arts and Sciences, majors must also clear a world language requirement, either three years in high school or a second semester college course including American Sign Language. Admission is fall only, through a window that runs September 1 to December 15, and requires a 2.50 cumulative GPA, though the middle 50 percent of admitted students land between 2.82 and 3.63. Applicants write a 1 to 3 page essay answering three prompts, including how they will hold themselves accountable when serving clients whose backgrounds differ from their own. CSWE accreditation dates to 1980, 46 years of unbroken standing, above the Illinois median of 32 years.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $11,000 · Out-of-state $20,358 / year
Locations
Normal, IL (1980-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 9.4
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 7.5
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #8
Northeastern Illinois University
Chicago, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 1988 · On-Campus
6.6
On-Campus Full & part-time 1 campus 1 certificate Accred. since 1988Why it ranks in Illinois
Northeastern Illinois University teaches the BSW in Chicago, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Illinois. This is the only publicly funded undergraduate social work program in the Chicago area, and the major is roughly the second largest in the College of Arts and Sciences. Placement sites range from the Department of Children and Family Services and juvenile probation to RefugeeOne, Howard Brown Health Center, Haymarket Center and Mujeres Latinas en Accion. Graduates are regularly offered positions by the agency where they completed their practicum, and BSW and MSW interns together contribute more than 90,000 hours of service a year to local agencies. The degree satisfies Illinois licensure standards, though the university has made no determination for other states. In-state tuition runs $10,343 a year against $20,686 for nonresidents, below the Illinois median of $13,776.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $10,343 · Out-of-state $20,686 / year
Locations
Chicago, IL (1988-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 8.1
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 5.0
- #9
Governors State University
University Park, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 1993 · On-Campus
6.3
On-Campus Full & part-time 1 campus 1 certificate Accred. since 1993Why it ranks in Illinois
Governors State University teaches the BSW in University Park, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Illinois. Social work classes are held on campus and web enhanced, meeting one day a week for two hours and fifty minutes, a schedule set around students who are working and running households. General education and prerequisite courses may be taken on campus, online or hybrid. The program is written for the returning adult learner, and most students arrive after two years at a community college in the region. Agency partnerships stretch across metropolitan Chicago, the collar counties and some of the smaller rural counties in southern Illinois, and each student works out an individual plan of study. In-state tuition runs $7,872 a year against $7,872 for nonresidents, below the Illinois median of $13,776. It carries the lowest published in-state tuition among the BSW programs in Illinois.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $7,872 · Out-of-state $7,872 / year
Locations
University Park, IL (1993-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 7.3
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 5.0
- #10
Greenville University
Greenville, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 2015 · Online or On-Campus
6.1
Online or On-Campus Full & part-time 1 campus + online Accred. since 2015Why it ranks in Illinois
Based in Greenville, Greenville University is a private university offering a BSW in Illinois. The practicum is counted at 40 clock hours on site for each semester hour of credit, and students must accumulate ten to twelve semester hours in total. Placements sit in social work agencies or comparable human service settings such as schools, churches and health clinics, and the on-site supervisor is ideally an MSW or LCSW. Two field seminars bracket the placement year: students propose a capstone project in the first that ties Christian faith to classroom knowledge and practicum work, then complete it in the second. Upper-division electives run to Mental Health and Diagnosis, built around the DSM-5, and a juvenile delinquency course cross-listed with criminal justice. Published tuition is $29,998 a year at one rate for residents and nonresidents, above the Illinois median of $13,776.
Annual tuition (not factored)
$29,998 / year (private, one rate for all students)
Locations
Greenville, IL (2015-present); Online (2021-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 3.8
- Delivery (22%) 7.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 10.0
- #11
Lewis University
Romeoville, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 2009 · Online or On-Campus
5.9
Online or On-Campus Full & part-time 1 campus + online 1 certificate Accred. since 2009Why it ranks in Illinois
Lewis University teaches the BSW in Romeoville, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Illinois. The 48-credit major pairs a practice sequence covering individuals, then families and groups, then organizations and the public sector, with required courses in Diagnosis in the Social Context, Ethics and Professional Issues, and Crisis Intervention. Nine elective hours can absorb short workshops on client resistance, work with Latino clients, school social work and Chicago as a policy text. Declaring the major takes a 2.75 cumulative GPA, a C or better in introduction to social work, Cultural Humility and Social Power and the human behavior course, and registration in the first practice course. The packet adds a personal statement and two recommendations from previous instructors, due to the program director by October 1. Published tuition is $37,592 a year at one rate for residents and nonresidents, above the Illinois median of $13,776.
Annual tuition (not factored)
$37,592 / year (private, one rate for all students)
Locations
Romeoville, IL (2009-present); Online (2025-present); Chicago, IL (2025-2026)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 4.7
- Delivery (22%) 7.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 5.0
- #12
University of Illinois at Springfield
Springfield, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 1996 · On-Campus
5.9
On-Campus Full & part-time 1 campus Accred. since 1996Why it ranks in Illinois
University of Illinois at Springfield teaches the BSW in Springfield, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Illinois. A three-course practice sequence moves from individual assessment and case management to group and family intervention, then to macro skills in community organization and political advocacy, closing with a senior seminar capstone. Electives reach into substance abuse treatment, child maltreatment advocacy, family law and poverty policy. Fieldwork carries four to eight credit hours of direct service in an approved agency under a supervising social worker, paired with a concurrent seminar, and students must clear the full practice, policy and research sequence before admission to it. A one-credit lab attached to the introductory course adds 30 agency hours that do not count toward fieldwork. In-state tuition runs $9,865 a year against $16,853 for nonresidents, below the Illinois median of $13,776.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $9,865 · Out-of-state $16,853 / year
Locations
Springfield, IL (1996-present)
Visit the University of Illinois at Springfield BSW program site
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 6.8
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #13
Bradley University
Peoria, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 1999 · On-Campus
5.7
On-Campus Full & part-time 1 campus Accred. since 1999Why it ranks in Illinois
Based in Peoria, Bradley University is a private university offering a BSW in Illinois. Social work is taught inside a combined department with sociology and criminology, and all three majors share the same grounding in research methods and theory. Students are encouraged to add one of the department's minors in sociology, criminology or anthropology. Graduates move into child welfare organizations including DCFS, hospitals and managed care companies, government agencies including prisons, and nonprofit roles such as policy advocate and grant writer. The degree also feeds an accelerated route into the MSW for students who want licensure in Illinois. Published tuition is $39,248 a year at one rate for residents and nonresidents, above the Illinois median of $13,776.
Annual tuition (not factored)
$39,248 / year (private, one rate for all students)
Locations
Peoria, IL (1999-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 6.3
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #14
Olivet Nazarene University
Bourbonnais, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 1994 · On-Campus
5.5
On-Campus Full-time 1 campus Accred. since 1994Why it ranks in Illinois
Based in Bourbonnais, Olivet Nazarene University is a private university offering a BSW in Illinois. Majors log 540 service hours in total. That starts with 30 hours mentoring at-risk youth in a local elementary or middle school during the very first course, continues with three separate 20-hour blocks serving at-risk populations of the student's choosing, and finishes with one 450-hour internship sited near campus, at home or abroad. About 98 percent of alumni are employed as social workers or admitted to an MSW program immediately after graduating. The department states the degree meets the educational requirements for licensure as a generalist practitioner in all 50 states, which graduates apply for in whichever state they practice. Published tuition is $36,950 a year at one rate for residents and nonresidents, above the Illinois median of $13,776.
Annual tuition (not factored)
$36,950 / year (private, one rate for all students)
Locations
Bourbonnais, IL (1994-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 7.1
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #15
Western Illinois University
Macomb, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 1995 · On-Campus
5.5
On-Campus Full-time 1 campus Accred. since 1995Why it ranks in Illinois
Based in Macomb, Western Illinois University is a public university offering a BSW in Illinois. SW 480 is a block placement worth 13 credit hours, 450 hours over at least 15 weeks at roughly 32 hours a week, taken in the semester after every other social work course is finished. Agencies must be within 80 miles of Macomb, and an integrative seminar meets every other Friday afternoon. In the 2025-2026 assessment of 121 students, all nine competencies cleared the program's 85 percent benchmark, seven of them at 100 percent and the lowest, practice-informed research, at 94.5 percent. Ratings come from field supervisors during SW 480 plus embedded assignments in six required courses. In-state tuition runs $9,359 a year against $9,359 for nonresidents, below the Illinois median of $13,776.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $9,359 · Out-of-state $9,359 / year
Locations
Macomb, IL (1995-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 7.0
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #16
National Louis University
Chicago, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 2021 · Online or On-Campus
5.2
Online or On-Campus Full & part-time 2 campuses + online Accred. since 2021Why it ranks in Illinois
National Louis University teaches the BSW in Chicago, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Illinois. Classes run online, on campus or blended, with evening sections, across the university's Chicago and Florida locations. Students who finished the BSW in fall 2021 or later graduated from an accredited program. Entry to the major requires Statistics, Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Sociology and a civics or American history course, each passed with a C or better. A C is also the floor in every major course in order to graduate. CSWE accreditation dates to 2021, 5 years of unbroken standing, below the Illinois median of 32 years.
Annual tuition (not factored)
$13,776 / year (private, one rate for all students)
Locations
Chicago, IL (2021-present); Wheeling, IL (2021-present); Online (2021-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 2.8
- Delivery (22%) 8.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #17
Methodist College
Peoria, IL · CSWE-Accredited since 2017 · On-Campus
4.5
On-Campus Full & part-time 1 campus Accred. since 2017Why it ranks in Illinois
Methodist College teaches the BSW in Peoria, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Illinois. The degree totals 120 credits and is weighted heavily toward the major, with 69 credits in social work against 51 in general education. Illinois lets BSW holders fill many positions without a license, with the licensed social worker and licensed clinical social worker credentials sitting above that. Practicum occupies the final two semesters rather than a single capstone term, placing students with Central Illinois nonprofits, human service organizations and hospitals the college already partners with. The full program is mapped to four years across eight semesters. CSWE accreditation dates to 2017, 9 years of unbroken standing, below the Illinois median of 32 years.
Annual tuition (not factored)
$16,248 / year (private, one rate for all students)
Locations
Peoria, IL (2017-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 3.4
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
The Social Work Industry in Illinois
A Bachelor of Social Work is the entry credential for Illinois's front-line social-service workforce. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET, social workers are employed across public human-services and child-welfare agencies, hospitals and health systems, K-12 schools, community mental-health and substance-use programs, aging and disability services, and nonprofit and faith-based organizations. BSW-level roles are generalist and direct-practice: case manager, child and family caseworker, community and behavioral-health worker, and social and human-service assistant. Supervisory, therapeutic, and independent clinical positions generally require a master's. If you plan to pursue graduate education, BestMSWPrograms.org covers the best MSW programs to help you take that next step.
Per the CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs, Illinois's 17 accredited programs are based across 17 cities, including Aurora, Woodstock, Williams Bay, Carbondale, Chicago, Joliet, and others, 5 offering an online option. 4 are hosted at a Carnegie research university (R1 or R2), which adds research and teaching-hospital placements to the local training pipeline. CSWE standards require supervised field education, so programs build placement partnerships with local agencies, hospitals, schools, and nonprofits, which makes the state's campuses a training and hiring pipeline into the surrounding Illinois social-service economy. Online-capable programs extend that access to students in rural and remote parts of the state, areas the federal government (HRSA) frequently designates as mental-health workforce shortage areas.
Nationally, the BLS projects social-worker employment will grow 7% from 2024 to 2034, faster than the average for all occupations, with about 67,300 openings projected each year, many from the need to replace workers who leave the occupation. The BLS projects faster-than-average growth for healthcare social workers and for mental health and substance abuse social workers, specialties that hire at both the bachelor's and master's levels.
Child, family, and school social workers, the most common BSW-level specialty, have a location quotient of 1.29 in Illinois, meaning the occupation is 29% more concentrated than the national average. The state supports roughly 3.3 of these jobs per 1,000 jobs statewide.
In Illinois, social workers held about 30,140 jobs across the four social work occupations as of May 2025, per the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program. Employment, annual wages, and pay range by specialty:
| Occupation | Employed in IL | Median | Mean | 10th to 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child, family, and school social workers | 19,860 | $63,220 | $70,670 | $47,120 to $105,660 |
| Healthcare social workers | 4,910 | $64,270 | $68,190 | $47,290 to $96,970 |
| Mental health and substance abuse social workers | 3,460 | $49,960 | $58,130 | $39,910 to $79,050 |
| Social workers, all other | 1,910 | $64,030 | $72,410 | $45,460 to $111,320 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025. Wages cover all workers in each occupation; BLS does not break wages out by degree, and BSW-level roles typically fall toward the lower end of each range. Location quotient compares the state's job concentration to the national average (1.0 = the national rate). O*NET reports tasks, skills, and local outlook by occupation.
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Social Workers; BLS state wage data for Illinois; O*NET: Child, Family, and School Social Workers; CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs; HRSA health workforce shortage areas.
Social Work Licensure in Illinois
Licensing data from the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the body that develops the social work licensing exams, captured 2026.
Illinois licenses social workers at the bachelor level, so a CSWE-accredited BSW is the degree requirement for an entry-level license here. That makes program accreditation, the basis of our ranking, a direct licensing prerequisite.
| License | Name | Exam | CSWE BSW required |
|---|---|---|---|
| LSW2 | Licensed Social Worker 2 | No ASWB exam required | Not specified |
The license ladder continues to the master's level (LSW1), and the clinical, independent-practice level (LCSW1, LCSW2, LCSW3). A CSWE-accredited BSW also qualifies graduates for Advanced Standing admission to a master's program.
How We Ranked These Programs
Every program is scored on the same five-factor model used in the national ranking, with no state-specific adjustments. Four factors are drawn from the CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs; prestige uses the institution's 2025 Carnegie research classification.
- Accreditation longevity (40%): years of continuous CSWE accreditation.
- Delivery flexibility (22%): online option and number of approved campus locations.
- Prestige (15%): 2025 Carnegie research tier (R1, R2, or baseline).
- Schedule flexibility (12%): full-time and part-time plans of study.
- Program breadth (11%): embedded certificates and dual-degree options.
For the full model, see our ranking methodology.