Bachelor's · Madison, Wisconsin
Is Social Work at University of Wisconsin-Madison worth it?
Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 6.6 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $45,169
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $58,405
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $13,500
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $70k (likely $70k – $81k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $17k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in WI
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 6.6 years (likely 5.1–9.4)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- −$96k (likely −$164k – −$29k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $125k (likely −$14k – $293k)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 90%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in
- not reported / ≤ 20%
- NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20
Change income, residency or loans Compare Social Work at other schools
Other majors at University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's)$196,985
- Public Health (Doctoral)$169,322
- Marketing (Master's)$166,668
- Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's)$164,371
- Business/Commerce, General (Master's)$160,097
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's)$156,689
- Engineering, General (Master's)$147,101
- Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First professional)$139,210
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Master's)$129,743
- Medicine (First professional)$127,913
- Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Doctoral)$126,758
- Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's)$125,492
Social Work at other schools in Wisconsin
- Viterbo University$57,159
- Concordia University-Wisconsin$55,600
- Carthage College$54,975
- University of Wisconsin-Green Bay$54,252
- University of Wisconsin-Superior$54,195
- University of Wisconsin-Whitewater$52,888
- University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire$52,461
- Marian University$51,997
- University of Wisconsin-River Falls$51,694
- University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh$51,044