The Top Associate in Social Work Degrees of 2023

1. Estrella Mountain Community College

Estrella Mountain Community College, one of ten Maricopa Community Colleges, offers an associate in arts degree for students interested in a social work career. This associate degree fulfills the first two years of a four-year undergraduate curriculum for students who plan to transfer into a bachelor of social work program.

Prerequisites are not required to enter the program, but students must earn a C grade or higher in each course. The coursework provides students with an understanding of evidence-based social work practice with individuals, families, groups, and community and social action groups. The curriculum emphasizes ethical principles to guide professional practice.

All Maricopa Community Colleges have an open admission policy. Students may enroll if they can meet any one of the following criteria: earned a high school diploma, completed a GED program, is at least 18 years old, or is a transfer student in good standing from another college.

• Program: Associate in arts, emphasis in social work
• Campus: Avondale, Arizona
• Type: Public
• Accreditation(s): Higher Learning Commission
• Tuition: $122 per credit Maricopa County residents; $531 per credit out-of-county

2. Phoenix College

Phoenix College, a member of the Maricopa Community Colleges system, administers a two-year associate in social work degree. The program comprises general education requirements, social work foundational courses, and electives. The degree prepares graduates for guaranteed acceptance into bachelor's programs at over 40 colleges and universities.

Each student enrolled in the associate degree meets with an academic advisor to develop an individual plan of study. The program requires completion of 60-64 credits with a C grade or better in each course. Social work course offerings include introductory ethics: a social service perspective, social service delivery systems, and effective helping in a diverse world.

The open admission policy welcomes students from all backgrounds and levels of preparation. Anyone age 18 and older can attend Phoenix College if they have a high school diploma, GRE scores, or if they are a transfer student in good standing from another college.

• Program: Associate in arts, emphasis in social work
• Campus: Phoenix, Arizona
• Type: Public
• Accreditation(s): Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• Tuition: $122 per credit Maricopa County residents; $531 per credit out-of-county

3. Austin Community College District

The associate of arts program in social work at Austin Community College prepares students for entry-level social service positions. It provides the first two years of coursework transferable to four-year baccalaureate-granting colleges or universities. Curriculum is approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

The program comprises 60-61 credits, covering multiple social work perspectives, with an emphasis on the most vulnerable populations. The curriculum, which integrates classroom instruction and field experiences, includes courses in social welfare as a social institution, contemporary social problems, and social welfare: legislation, programs, and services.

The Austin Community College District has an open admissions policy. Applicants only need to document completion of a high school or GED diploma. Applicants 18 or older without a high school or GED diploma must demonstrate their ability to complete college-level work by earning a passing grade on the reading, writing, and/or math sections of the Texas Success Initiative test.

• Program: Associate of arts in social work
• Campus: Austin, Texas
• Type: Public
• Accreditation(s): Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• Tuition: $85 per credit in-district; $286 per credit out-of-district

4. New Mexico State University-Carlsbad

Earning an associate in social work degree at NMSU-Carlsbad prepares graduates for careers in social service or community health agencies as paraprofessionals. The degree also provides the coursework needed to transfer into a bachelor's program in social work or other majors. The plan of study for the associate degree consists of general education requirements, including New Mexico Common Core components, and elective credits, for a total of 60 credits.

Students take foundational social work courses in human services and social work, human growth and behavior, and case management. Recommended electives include criminal courts and procedures, counseling and community psychology, and substance abuse.

First-time applicants to NMSU-Carlsbad must have a high school diploma and meet one of the following requirements:

• A cumulative high school GPA of 2.75, or
• ACT composite score of 21 or SAT score of 1060, or
• Ranked in the top 20% of their graduating class

• Program: Associate of social work
• Campus: Carlsbad, New Mexico
• Type: Public
• Accreditation(s): Higher Learning Commission
• Tuition: $8,408 per year in-state; $26,744 per year out-of-state

5. University of Cincinnati-Clermont College

The associate in social work program at the University of Cincinnati-Clermont College requires 62 credits completed in two years if enrolled full time. The degree prepares students to transfer to a four-year college or university to complete a bachelor of social work or a related field. The university provides a full range of academic support services.

Social work courses include introduction to social work, social welfare, human services, and poverty in America. The minimum number of credits needed to complete the associate degree varies based on previously earned credits, and the placement level for required coursework.

This program is open to students with a high school or GED diploma. Students who meet the academic standards of the program have the opportunity to advance to higher levels of study, such as a bachelor of social work.

• Program: Associate of arts in social work
• Campus: Batavia, Ohio
• Type: Public
• Accreditation(s): Higher Learning Commission
• Tuition: $3,277 per semester in-state; $6,893 per semester out-of-state

6. GateWay Community College

Phoenix-based Gateway Community College offers an associate degree with an emphasis on social work that prepares students to enter careers in behavioral and human services. The degree provides the first two years of a bachelor's degree curriculum for students planning to transfer into a four-year college or university.

All in-coming students work with an academic advisor to develop an individual plan of study. The curriculum comprises foundational coursework in the introduction to social work, a social service perspective to ethics, social service delivery systems, and effective helping in a diverse world. Students may pursue interdisciplinary electives in areas, such as criminal justice, community relations, and public policy.

GateWay follows the Maricopa Community Colleges open admission policy, admitting students from a variety of backgrounds and charging no application fees. Students may enroll if they fulfill any of the following conditions:

• High school or GED diploma
• 18 years or older, demonstrating evidence of potential success in college
• A transfer student in good standing from another college or university
• Program: Associate in arts, emphasis in social work
• Campus: Phoenix, Arizona
• Type: Public
• Accreditation(s): Higher Learning Commission
• Tuition: $122 per credit Maricopa County residents; $531 per credit out-of-county

7. Amarillo College

Amarillo College offers an associate degree for students interested in entering the field of social work immediately after completion of their degree or for those who plan to continue to a college or university granting bachelor's degrees. Students interested in earning a bachelor's degree should plan their associate program of study by selecting courses that fulfill the specific requirements of the four year institution they plan to attend.

The 60-credit curriculum consists of general education requirements and major courses, such as an introduction to social work, psychology of adjustment, lifespan growth and development, social problems. The college provides an array of resources and academic services to ensure student success, including on-campus and online tutoring, academic advising, and career and employment services.

The open admission process welcomes all applicants. Submission of proof of a high school or GED diploma and official transcripts are recommended but not required.

• Program: Associate in science – social work
• Campus: Amarillo, Texas
• Type: Public
• Accreditation(s): Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• Tuition: $113 per credit in-state; $305 per credit out-of-state

8. Edison State Community College

The associate degree in social services offered at Edison State Community College prepares students for entry-level work assisting professionals in social service agencies. The program also provides transfer pathways to both in- and out-of-state, four-year universities for students who intend to earn a bachelor's degree.

This associate degree in social work equips students with an understanding of human systems, their basic operational patterns at the individual, group/family, and community/organizational levels, and generalist social work practice and intervention methods associated with these levels. The 64-credit curriculum consists of foundational courses in the introduction to social work and social welfare and social services interview skills and methods.

As an open admissions institution, Edison State Community College admits students with a high school or GED diploma; transfer or returning students; and adult learners, veterans, or senior citizens.

• Program: Associate of arts in social services
• Campus: Piqua, Ohio
• Type: Public
• Accreditation(s): Higher Learning Commission
• Tuition: $144 per credit in-state; $311 per credit out-of-state

9. City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College

Harold Washington College, one of seven City Colleges of Chicago, offers several associate degrees that serve diverse student populations in the Chicago area. The associate in social work degree comprises 60 credits, including a minimum of 37 credits in general education that fulfill the transfer requirements for four-year institutions established by the Illinois Articulation Initiative.

The degree takes four semesters if enrolled full-time but can be modified for part-time learners. Students in the social work pathway must take introduction to social work, social psychology, lifespan development, and other electives in psychology and sociology.

Like all City Colleges of Chicago, Harold Washington is an open enrollment school accepting students throughout the year. The college admits first-time college students, and transfer, disabled, under-represented, military/veteran, and international students.

• Program: Associate in arts in social work
• Campus: Chicago, Illinois
• Type: Public
• Accreditation(s): Higher Learning Commission
• Tuition: $146 per credit in-district; $384 per credit out-of-district

10. Tyler Junior College

Tyler Junior College offers an associate in social work degree in a hybrid format that can be completed in four semesters if enrolled full time. The degree provides the first two years of coursework for transfer students as a path to a baccalaureate social work degree program in Texas.

Students take 16 credits in the social work major, including a statistics course, and an additional 44 credits from the Texas Junior College core curriculum, for a total of 60 credits. The major introduces students to foundational social work knowledge in courses, such as the introduction to social work, social problems, and social welfare as a social institution.

The college has an open-door admissions policy, featuring a convenient online application process and no application fees. Students must have a high school or a GED diploma for admission, but there is no GPA or ACT/SAT requirement.

• Program: Associate of arts in social work
• Campus: Tyler, Texas
• Type: Public
• Accreditation(s): Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• Tuition: $134 per credit in district; $218 per credit out-of-state