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Health care social worker education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a health care social worker. Health care social workers usually study social work, psychology, or business. 31% of health care social workers hold a bachelor's degree, and 20% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,094 real health care social worker resumes to see exactly what health care social worker education sections show.
The most common colleges for health care social workers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online health care social worker courses to help get the education required to be a health care social worker.
There are certain health care social worker certifications that you should consider. These health care social worker certifications include Medical Assistant and Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA).
What education do you need to become a health care social worker?
What degree do you need to be a health care social worker?
- Bachelor's, 31%
- Associate, 20%
- High School Diploma, 18%
- Master's, 16%
- Other Degrees, 15%
What should I major in to become a health care social worker?
- Social Work, 19%
- Psychology, 12%
- Business, 11%
- Other Majors, 51%
Most common colleges for health care social workers
| Health care social worker common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 17.57% |
| New York University | 9.46% |
| Baker College | 8.11% |
| Wayne State University | 6.76% |
| San Francisco State University | 6.76% |
Best majors for health care social workers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Social Work | 19.2% |
| 2 | Psychology | 12.1% |
| 3 | Business | 11.0% |
| 4 | Health Care Administration | 7.1% |
| 5 | Nursing | 6.0% |
Best colleges for health care social workers
The best colleges for health care social workers are University of Pennsylvania, Boston College, and Case Western Reserve University.
A health care social worker with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for health care social workers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become health care social workers.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
4. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Enrollment
31,503
5. Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,464
Enrollment
9,639
6. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
7. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Enrollment
32,072
8. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Enrollment
16,205
9. Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$49,042
Enrollment
5,131
10. University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,368
Enrollment
58,392
20 best online courses for health care social workers
Advertising disclosure
1. Health for All Through Primary Health Care
This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...
2. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations
Have you ever needed health care and thought that there must be better ways to get or deliver health care? For example, have you found yourself thinking that there should be a way to get a diagnostic test or treatment at home? Or do you work in a healthcare organization and find yourself thinking that there must be better ways to deliver health care? If you have, this course is for you. Course content includes an overview of health care delivery including healthcare consumerism, the patient's...
3. Providing Trauma-Informed Care
Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...
4. Coping Skills and Self-Care for Mental Health
Essential skills to manage intense emotions and develop a self-care practice to promote mental health...
5. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
6. Health Care IT: Challenges and Opportunities
A strong argument can be made that the health care field is one of the most information-intensive sectors in the U.S. economy and avoidance of the rapid advances in information technology is no longer an option. Consequently, the study of health care information technology and systems has become central to health care delivery effectiveness. This course covers the modern application of information technology that is critical to supporting the vision and operational knowledge of the health care...
7. Home Health Aide, Nurse Aide, Caregiver Certification Course
Become A Certified Home Health Aide, Personal Care Aide, Nurse Aide/ Caregiver At The End Of This Course. Enroll Now!!...
8. The Key to Happiness: Self Care
Discover Self Care as a tool for creating positive change in your mental health, behaviours, and well-being...
9. The Business of Health Care
This Specialization was designed to help you keep pace with the rapidly changing world of health and health care. Through partnership with Wharton and Penn Medicine, you’ll learn from experts in business acumen, health care management, and health care policy to develop the skills you’ll need to successfully navigate the quickly evolving landscape of this fast-growing field.* By the end of this specialization, you will have a strong foundational understanding of the American health care system,...
10. Social Policy for Social Services & Health Practitioners
In the U.S., social policy accounts for two-thirds of government spending. Knowing how policies are constructed, what values underlie them, and how they succeed or fail makes everyone more effective at work or in their civic role. This specialization includes an HONORS track in which learners will complete a professional social policy analysis.\n\nTeachers, health care workers, police, and social workers interact with policy daily, but all of us should care about the impact and effectiveness of...
11. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course
The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...
12. Palliative Care Always
Palliative Care Always is a specialization for health care practitioners, patients and caregivers. We’ve designed this specialization to demonstrate how palliative medicine integrates with patient care, and to help you develop primary palliative care skills. Over the next five courses, you will develop skills in symptom management, goals of care and effective communication to improve the quality of life for patients and families suffering with serious illness. Our hope is that you feel...
13. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative
Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...
14. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children
Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...
15. HI-FIVE: Health Informatics For Innovation, Value & Enrichment (Social/Peer Perspective)
HI-FIVE (Health Informatics For Innovation, Value & Enrichment) Training is an approximately 10-hour online course designed by Columbia University in 2016, with sponsorship from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The training is role-based and uses case scenarios. No additional hardware or software are required for this course. Our nation’s healthcare system is changing at a rapid pace. Transformative health care delivery programs depend heavily on...
16. COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers
COVID-19 is rapidly spreading across the globe and all providers must be prepared to recognize, stabilize and treat patients with novel coronavirus infection. Following completion of this short course physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals will have a unified, evidenced-based approach to saving the lives of patients with COVID-19, including those who are critically ill. Learning modules are broken into short videos presented in a richly illustrated and compelling manner. The...
17. Trauma Emergencies and Care
Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...
18. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...
19. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care
In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...
20. Caring for Others
Caring for Others examines how society cares for its at-risk members and the experiences of its caregivers. This specialization addresses questions such as: How much suffering is in the world today? Does digital media sensitize/desensitize us to the anguish of distant others? What are the different types of paid care work? How do care workers manage their emotions? And much more. This specialization is relevant to individuals interested in becoming a helping professional as well as anyone...
Top 10 most affordable universities for health care social workers
The most affordable schools for health care social workers are Hunter College of the City University of New York, california state university - long beach, and brigham young university.
If the best universities for health care social workers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for health care social workers.
1. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
2. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
3. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
4. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
5. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
6. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,886
Cost of attendance
17,645
7. Minot State University
Minot, ND • Private
In-state tuition
$7,064
Cost of attendance
15,576
8. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
9. Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$4,831
Cost of attendance
19,559
10. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for health care social workers
The hardest universities for health care social workers to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Boston College, and Case Western Reserve University.
Some great schools for health care social workers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for health care social workers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
2. Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA • Private
Admissions rate
28%
SAT average
1,429
3. Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,443
4. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
Admissions rate
23%
SAT average
1,398
7. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
8. University of Rochester
Rochester, NY • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,422
9. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
10. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for health care social workers
The easiest schools for health care social workers to get into are Nyack College, mount saint mary's university, and kean university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a health care social worker without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for health care social workers.
1. Nyack College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
999
2. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
3. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
4. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
5. Texas Woman's University
Denton, TX • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,059
6. College of New Rochelle, The
New Rochelle, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
982
7. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
8. Washington Adventist Hospital
Takoma Park, MD • Private
Admissions rate
52%
SAT average
958
9. Fresno Pacific University
Fresno, CA • Private
Admissions rate
85%
SAT average
1,053
10. Ottawa University
Ottawa, KS • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,024
Average health care social worker salary by education level
| Health care social worker education level | Health care social worker salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $48,539 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $35,981 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $43,537 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $41,552 |
Health care social worker education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025