Post job

Renal social worker education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a renal social worker. Renal social workers usually study social work, psychology, or mental health counseling. 61% of renal social workers hold a master's degree, and 33% hold an bachelor's degree. We analyzed 558 real renal social worker resumes to see exactly what renal social worker education sections show.

The most common colleges for renal social workers are the University of Houston and the University of Houston.

There are also many online renal social worker courses to help get the education required to be a renal social worker.

What education do you need to become a renal social worker?

What degree do you need to be a renal social worker?

The most common degree for renal social workers is master's degree, with 61% of renal social workers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are bachelor's degree degree at 33% and bachelor's degree degree at 4%.
  • Master's, 61%
  • Bachelor's, 33%
  • Associate, 4%
  • Doctorate, 1%
  • Other Degrees, 1%

What should I major in to become a renal social worker?

You should major in social work to become a renal social worker. 71% of renal social workers major in social work. Other common majors for a renal social worker include psychology and mental health counseling.

Most common colleges for renal social workers

Renal social workers often get their degrees at University of Houston, University of South Carolina - Columbia, and Temple University. Here are the most common colleges for renal social workers in the US based on their resumes.
Renal social worker common collegePercentages
University of Houston12.17%
University of South Carolina - Columbia9.57%
Temple University6.96%
University of Southern California6.09%
Wayne State University5.22%

Best majors for renal social workers

Best colleges for renal social workers

The best colleges for renal social workers are Boston College, Boston University, and University of Pennsylvania.

A renal 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 renal 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 renal 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. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

20 best online courses for renal social workers

Advertising disclosure

1. Clinical Kidney, Pancreas and Islet Transplantation

coursera

Kidney transplantation is a major advance of modern medicine which provides high-quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease. What used to be an experimental, risky, and very limited treatment option more than 50 years ago is now routinely performed in many countries worldwide. The number of renal transplants is expected to rise sharply in the next decade since the proportion of patients with end stage renal disease is increasing. Are you interested in clinical kidney, pancreas...

2. Social Policy for Social Services & Health Practitioners

coursera

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...

3. Crisis Intervention Seminar

udemy
4.4
(634)

The emphasis is on the development of fundamental clinical skills in the area of crisis intervention...

4. Social Media Crisis Prevention

udemy
4.2
(277)

Get practical skills to protect your reputation and your organization against a social media meltdown...

5. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers

coursera

This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...

6. Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

coursera

This course focuses on data, evaluation methods and the economic evaluation of digital health interventions. This module focuses on key data considerations for digital health including data management, data visualisation and methods for evaluating digital health interventions. The key focus is on experimental and quasi-experimental design approaches that can be applied to evaluating digital health interventions and key considerations for the economic evaluation of digital health interventions...

7. Conflict Resolution for Co-Workers

udemy
4.4
(266)

You'll learn diagnosis and resolution techniques for tense, sensitive conflicts with your co-workers, manager or peers...

8. Addiction & Mental Health - Chemically Speaking Two (2hrs)

udemy
4.7
(311)

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Interventions - Understand Drug & Alcohol Addiction & Mental Health. How to help people...

9. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale

coursera

Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...

10. The Influence of Social Determinants on Health

coursera

Why are some groups healthier than others, and how do these differences emerge and persist over a lifetime? How do social policies on housing, transportation, and employment relate to health and health inequalities?\n\nThis specialization will examine social, behavioral, economic, political, and structural factors that contribute to health inequalities, and suggest innovative ways to reduce disparities in health to achieve health equity.You will learn,\n\n-Use conceptual models to understand...

11. Social Media for Healthcare Providers

udemy
4.4
(663)

Social media and HIPPA compliance training for covered entities that transmit health information...

12. Addiction & Mental Health (Dual Diagnosis) Integrative 12hrs

udemy
4.7
(1,529)

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Interventions: Drug & Alcohol Addiction & Mental Health - Integrative Holistic Approach...

13. HI-FIVE: Health Informatics For Innovation, Value & Enrichment (Social/Peer Perspective)

coursera

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...

14. Social Determinants of Health

coursera

This is an introductory course on social determinants of population health with a focus on the United States. The course will introduce you to, or reinforce your knowledge of, issues related to health that consider behavioral, psychological and structural factors in population health beyond the healthcare system. We will examine social, economic, and political factors that contribute to health inequalities and suggest innovative ways to reduce disparities in health when the goal is to achieve...

15. Water Treatment Process Design

udemy
4.4
(396)

design water treatment& RO/NF plants, sand& multimedia filter, iron& manganese removal filter, Ion exchange DI& softener...

16. Mental Health First Aid Skills -

udemy
4.4
(1,774)

This course is designed to provide the tools and knowledge for learners to help and support those experiencing MH issues...

17. COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers

coursera

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...

18. Crisis Communications

coursera

Crisis Communications is designed to empower professionals with the knowledge and skills to effectively navigate and respond to crisis situations through interviews...

19. Social Media Ethics

udemy
4.3
(1,564)

Just because you can tweet it, doesn't mean you should. Learn to do the right thing on social media...

20. Design of Water Treatment Systems for Beginners

udemy
4.7
(269)

Learn how to fully design a water treatment system for small to medium scale projects...

Top 10 most affordable universities for renal social workers

The most affordable schools for renal 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 renal 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 renal 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. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

5. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

6. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

7. Minot State University

Minot, ND • Private

In-state tuition

$7,064

Cost of attendance

15,576

8. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

9. Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$4,831

Cost of attendance

19,559

10. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for renal social workers

The hardest universities for renal social workers to get into are Boston College, Boston University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for renal 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 renal 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. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

2. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

4. Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,443

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

7. Fordham University

Bronx, NY • Private

Admissions rate

46%

SAT average

1,354

8. Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY • Private

Admissions rate

50%

SAT average

1,284

9. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

Admissions rate

23%

SAT average

1,398

10. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for renal social workers

The easiest schools for renal social workers to get into are Nyack College, kean university, and notre dame de namur university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a renal 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 renal social workers.

1. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

2. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

3. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

4. Fresno Pacific University

Fresno, CA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,053

5. College of New Rochelle, The

New Rochelle, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

982

6. Texas Woman's University

Denton, TX • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,059

7. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,054

8. Washington Adventist Hospital

Takoma Park, MD • Private

Admissions rate

52%

SAT average

958

9. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

10. Iona College

New Rochelle, NY • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,089

Average renal social worker salary by education level

According to our data, renal social workers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $68,539 annually. Renal social workers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $61,256.
Renal social worker education levelRenal social worker salary
Master's Degree$68,539
High School Diploma or Less$50,305
Bachelor's Degree$61,256
Some College/ Associate Degree$58,373

Renal social worker education FAQs

Search for renal social worker jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse community and social services jobs