by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 9,231 people earned their degree in ethnic studies, making the major the 99th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, ethnic studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $30,818 and had an average of $22,901 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Southwest region, there were 419 ethnic studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,632 and $24,486 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region” ranking, we looked at 51 colleges that offer a degree in ethnic studies. That schools that top this list have a program in ethnic studies in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region” list to help you make the college decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region ethnic studies students.
Out of the 51 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, College of the Muscogee Nation landed the #1 spot on the list. This small school is located in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, and it awarded 14 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Ethnic Studies at College of the Muscogee Nation
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region list. Santa Fe, New Mexico is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ethnic studies degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Ethnic Studies at Institute of American Indian Arts
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bacone College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region list. Bacone College is located in Muskogee, Oklahoma and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 ’s ethnic studies degrees to qualified students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southeastern Oklahoma State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Durant, Oklahoma, and it awarded 29 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Ethnic Studies at Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Out of the 51 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of New Mexico - Main Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. UNM is a large public school situated in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It awarded 51 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #6, Dine College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region list. Dine College is located in Tsaile, Arizona and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 ’s ethnic studies degrees to qualified students.
East Central University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking. East Central University is a public institution located in Ada, Oklahoma. The school has a small population, and it awarded 4 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Texas Christian University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #8. Fort Worth, Texas is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s ethnic studies degrees to 14 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of Oklahoma Norman Campus came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in Norman, Oklahoma, this large public school awarded 23 degrees to qualified ’s ethnic studies students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Ethnic Studies at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
University of Arizona ranked #10 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region list. University of Arizona is located in Tucson, Arizona and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 40 ’s ethnic studies degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Rice University landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Rice is located in Houston, Texas and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 ’s ethnic studies degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
With a ranking of #12, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region list. Austin, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ethnic studies degrees to 60 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full The University of Texas at Austin Ethnic Studies Report
University of Tulsa ranked #13 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region list. Located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 3 degrees to qualified ’s ethnic studies students in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
The University of Texas at San Antonio did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #14. UTSA is a large public school situated in San Antonio, Texas. It awarded 19 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 5.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Texas Woman’s University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #15. Located in Denton, Texas, this fairly large public school handed out 11 diplomas to qualified ’s ethnic studies students in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #16, The University of Texas at El Paso did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region list. The University of Texas at El Paso is located in El Paso, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 ’s ethnic studies degrees to qualified students.
Full The University of Texas at El Paso Ethnic Studies Report
With a ranking of #17, San Juan College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region list. San Juan College is a medium-sized public school situated in Farmington, New Mexico. It awarded 2 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Arizona State University - Tempe came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in Tempe, Arizona, this large public school handed out 50 degrees to qualified ’s ethnic studies students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Ethnic Studies at Arizona State University - Tempe
Northeastern State University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Northeastern State University is located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 ’s ethnic studies degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Ethnic Studies at Northeastern State University
New Mexico State University - Main Campus came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Las Cruces, New Mexico is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ethnic studies degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.
Full New Mexico State University - Main Campus Ethnic Studies Report
University of Houston landed the #21 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Houston, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ethnic studies degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking. UT Rio Grande Valley is located in Edinburg, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 ’s ethnic studies degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Northern Arizona University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Northern Arizona University is a large public school situated in Flagstaff, Arizona. It awarded 13 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #24. Scottsdale, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ethnic studies degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
University of North Texas landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Ethnic Studies Major in the Southwest Region ranking. UNT is a large public school situated in Denton, Texas. It awarded 3 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Ethnic Studies at University of North Texas
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
