Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Family And School Social Workers
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at UW Stout, UW Milwaukee, UW Eau Claire, and UW Whitewater.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider Lakeland, UW Platteville, Mount Mary College, and UW Superior.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Mount Mary College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider College of Menominee Nation, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, Concordia, and Mount Mary College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, Concordia, College of Menominee Nation, and Lakeland.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Marquette, UW River Falls, UW Superior, and Carthage College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Carthage College, Marquette, UW Platteville, and Concordia.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at University of Wisconsin and Marquette.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Mount Mary College.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at College of Menominee Nation, Marquette, UW Superior, and Carthage College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Kaplan University • Online, WI
Studying Psychology (completion in 2010)
• 9/23/2011
"I wish I would have had the opportunity to interact more with classmates face to face."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | A more social person, such as myself, should go to a traditional school. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Kaplan has a good reputation for learning, but has a low retention rate. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The program I completed in school was very interesting. I learned a lot and was prepared for my career. |
| Instruction | 6 | Because I completed my degree on a part-time basis, and in an online environment, there was not a lot of contact with instructors. The learning is more self-directed and the grades are based on examination. |
| How Difficult | 8 | When one goes to school online, there is a lot more work than in a brick and mortar school. This is done to be sure that the student is getting the time in that they normally would for lectures. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Online learning requires the learner to do a lot of reading to make up for lack of lecture. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | Online transmission is as flexible as it comes! |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | In an online format, I did have access to local college libraries but my school did not have its own. I was able to access Academic Searches online, however. |
| Social Life | 4 | Online chatting in prearranged chat rooms was the only student interaction I had. |
| Placement Services | 3 | I did not find much help when it came to job placement at my school. They offered resume help but that was about it. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | I have found that it is far from tight-knit due to being an online program. |
University WI - Oshkosh • Oshkosh, WI
Studying Public Child Welfare (completion in 1997)
• 12/3/2011
"The curriculum and instructors were fantastic. The relationship with the public agencies was another reason for the satisfied response, allowing students more opportunities to work in the field while attending school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The public agencies respect the institution/university and instructors involved so much that they are often chosen ahead of other universities in the region. The university has a partnership with University WI - Green Bay for the school of social work which further improves those opportunities. It is a well respected school in the state and since it is important to have this respect from the hiring public agencies it is a great school. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | The university has an excellent reputation. However, given that we are in WI it is tough to compare the reputation of the University of WI-Madison and/or Milwaukee as we are a smaller school and it is more difficult to receive the same recognition. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Both the graduate and undergraduate programs provided by the school were relevant courses as they relate to providing services to children and families beyond school. The challenge is how to involve the school of social work with human services in school to best serve the community. |
| Instruction | 8 | The instructors and curriculum were very good. One critique would be that instructors had little or no relevant field experience. |
| How Difficult | 8 | I found the graduate program to be fairly easy. If evaluating the graduate program, while working full-time the academic challenge was far greater. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The ability to intern in both graduate and undergraduate programs provided for more hands on experience. Working with local human services, the ability to practice, observe initial assessments and gain access to families in the public system was invaluable. This was especially valuable in public child welfare where the field is unable to retain social workers and it is important to have that hands on experience to ensure that the workers are adequately prepared. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | Days and evenings were often available. The graduate program allowed for flexibility in schedules in order to afford the opportunity to work while getting the Master's degree. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The facilities in Oshkosh have been dated for some time. However, the higher rating is due to the recent Student Union building built in the last few years, it provides an excellent opportunity for students. When I attended, the classrooms were very spacious and was not crowded in the building in between classes. |
| Social Life | 9 | Oshkosh was a very social experience for me. Many students on campus offered communication about the organized events, football games, baseball games and showed great school spirit. The parties were more individually hosted but were often beginning Thursday evenings through Saturday allowing for great opportunities to meet fellow students. |
| Placement Services | 9 | The university in collaboration with the training program often finds internships. Beyond the internships in public child welfare, the university's positive relationship with the human services agencies allows for many full-time positions after graduation. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | The university provides emails on a regular basis about events and opportunities to donate to the program. I am also involved with the university through a shared training program offered in partnership with the school of social work and the human services agencies to seek and provide alumni support. |
University Of Wisconsin Oshkosh • Oshkosh, WI
Studying Social Work (completion in 2008)
• 1/16/2012
"I am very satisfied with my school. I feel like it gave me the education and knowledge that I needed to go out into the field. I think the professors really cared about the students."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | UW Oshkosh has a great program and great professors. They do a great job of preparing students for the work force. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | I believe the school's reputation is good. I work with 3 other UW Oshkosh Social Work alumni. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I enjoyed my schooling and feel it was very good. The only thing I would change would be to add another internship junior year instead of only senior year. I feel like one of the most important parts of the program is the internship. |
| Instruction | 10 | I felt all of the professors were very good. They did everything they could to prepare us, and seemed genuinely ready to welcome us to their field. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Social work is probably not the most challenging in a traditional sense. It is, however, challenging in the way that one must really look at themselves closely. The workload was appropriate. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The first 2 years of the program were very book learning oriented. The final 2 years became very hands on. We had interviewing labs to practice interviewing skills, and a 2 semester internship with a local agency. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | The schedule was not very flexible once in the last 2 years of the programs. Everything was offered during the week during normal school hours. There were no online or weekend options. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | I felt like the school had the facilities that were necessary for me. The academic advisors were available when you needed them. It is not a very big school, so accessibility of professors was very good. |
| Social Life | 5 | I went back to school as a non-traditional student. I was a single mom and commuted back and forth to school. I did not get involved with social activities on campus. |
| Placement Services | 7 | I never took advantage of these services. I was lucky enough to get hired where I did my internship. I have heard that the job placement service is adequate. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | The alumni network is pretty good. I probably do not take advantage of it enough. |
University Of Wisconsin - Whitewater • Whitewater, WI
Studying Social Work (completion in 2007)
• 2/29/2012
"UW-Whitewater provides a great educational opportunity for students. The school provides ample academic and social opportunities for students."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Overall, UW-Whitewater has a great social work program that will prepare students for a social work career. The faculty is easy to work with and the material provides a strong foundation of knowledge. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Amongst state schools that have social work programs, UW-Whitewater has a strong, highly regarded program. Outside of the state or to people not familiar with social work professions, the school's reputation for social work would be unknown. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The social work program provided a lot of practice knowledge and skills sessions. The material was all very relevant to the job. More focus could have been put on completing assessments and clinical writing. |
| Instruction | 9 | All of the social work program staff members were very in touch with the field, with most having part-time work in the field. They taught the skills and provided real-life examples. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The social work program was not very difficult. A lot of the material is based on human interaction and not on memorization. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The social work program was very hands on. Role-playing with students was a large part of most classes. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | The UW-Whitewater social work program has a wide variety of classes offered at all times. That being said, there are some highly specialized classes and field placements that are only offered during certain times. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The academic advisors were social work program faculty members, so they were very familiar with the classes and program. The social work program had its own office and a very small library of resources. Faculty members were frequently available, and students organized study groups and tutors. |
| Social Life | 7 | Social experiences were readily available. However, UW-Whitewater is mainly a suitcase college, and the place can be a ghost town on the weekends. Athletic teams were nationally ranked in the division, social events were organized by numerous clubs, and fraternal groups had frequent parties. |
| Placement Services | 7 | UW-Whitewater has a career center that will provide resume and cover letter help, as well as other career-related information. They also sponsor job fairs and provide job posting information. I cannot rate the quality of these services, as I did not use them. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | UW-Whitewater has a strong alumni group. The benefits to me as a social worker are not great enough for me to get involved. |
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