The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is the sole accrediting agency for social work education in the United States. Attending a college whose program has passed the standards set by this organization ensures strict educational competencies. The council offers a directory of all accredited social work degree programs. Students interested in studying social work or those wanting to further their education can use this online directory to narrow the more than 470 colleges by state or program level. The directory includes organization contact information for each social work degree program.
The College Board provides an online directory of U.S. colleges that can be used to create lists limited by factors such as geographic location, school setting, campus life and academic major. Because many colleges' social work programs are similar, this generated list can compare up to three schools side-by-side for factors such as costs, housing options and admission requirements.
"The Gourman Report of Graduate Programs," published by "The Princeton Review," ranks undergraduate and graduate programs by program of study. The list of top graduate programs in social work, social welfare or social service includes 31 colleges and universities that are consistently ranked as the most competitive programs in the United States. According to the 8th edition of this publication, the top three universities in this area of study are the University of Chicago, Columbia University and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
The news magazine "U.S. News & World Report" is an established source of ranking information on colleges and universities in the United States. Its reports cover both undergraduate and graduate programs and include general assessments along with more specific rankings based on academic majors. According to the magazine's website, the rankings are based solely on the ratings of academic experts. The latest assessment of graduate programs in social work was done in 2008 and contains dozens of programs. The top three universities on the list are Washington University in St. Louis, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and University of Chicago.