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2024 Best Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region

23 Colleges in the Far Western US Region
1,142 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$31,715 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in area studies is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #115 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual reviewed 23 schools in the Far Western US Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of area studies. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,142 degrees in area studies during the 2021-2022 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Area Studies School

Best Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region Your choice of area studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Area Studies School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Area Studies Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Area Studies
Master's Degrees in Area Studies
Doctor's Degrees in Area Studies

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 Best Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Area Studies in the Far Western US Region

The schools below may not offer all types of area studies degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Far Western US Region Schools in Area Studies

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
62 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
30.6% Growth in Graduates

Stanford University is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in area studies. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were about 62 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. Area Studies degree recipients from Stanford University get an earnings boost of approximately $16,406 above the average income of area studies majors.

More information about a degree in area studies from Stanford University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
65 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$40,373 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Berkeley is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in area studies. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 65 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Area Studies degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley get an earnings boost of about $8,658 over the average income of area studies graduates.

More information about a degree in area studies from University of California - Berkeley

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
200 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
4.0% Growth in Graduates

University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a good decision for students interested in a degree in area studies. UW Seattle is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Seattle. A Best Colleges rank of #37 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UW Seattle is a great university overall.

There were about 200.00000000000003 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year. Those area studies students who get their degree from University of Washington - Seattle Campus make $3,850 more than the standard area studies graduate.

More information about a degree in area studies from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
78 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$22,438 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in area studies needs to take a look at University of California - Los Angeles. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were approximately 78 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. After graduation, area studies degree recipients generally make about $22,438 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in area studies from University of California - Los Angeles

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
39 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
43.6% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were approximately 39 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, area studies degree recipients typically earn about $25,884 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in area studies from University of California - San Diego

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In CA
$14,167 Median Student Debt

UC Davis is a very large public university located in the small suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were roughly 22 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in area studies from University of California - Davis

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$19,866 Median Starting Salary
$22,697 Median Student Debt

UCSB is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were about 27 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the area studies program report average early career wages of $19,866.

More information about a degree in area studies from University of California - Santa Barbara

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In CA
32 Area Studies Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were approximately 32 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in area studies from University of California - Irvine

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
48 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$30,213 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 28th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 48 area studies students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year. After graduating, area studies degree recipients typically earn an average of $30,213 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in area studies from California State University - Long Beach

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
17th Most Popular In CA

Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.

There were about 11 area studies students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in area studies from San Diego State University

Best Area Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best area studies colleges for a specific state in the Far Western US Region .

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
California330879
Washington300236
Oregon26651
Nevada1924
Hawaii16457
Alaska1191

View All Rankings >

One of 2 majors within the Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies area of study, Area Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Area Studies Concentrations

MajorAnnual Graduates
American U.S. Studies321
Area Studies, Other246
Asian Studies195
Latin American Studies99
East Asian Studies76
Japanese Studies33
Near & Middle Eastern Studies27
Chinese Studies22
Pacific Area/Pacific Rim Studies20
Central & Eastern European Studies20

View All Area Studies Focus Areas >

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Ethnic Studies3,236
Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies (Other)2

View All Area Studies Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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