2024 Best Area Studies Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

a master's degree in area studies is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #116 out of 343 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 6 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Area Studies Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 135 master's degrees in area studies to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Area Studies School for Your Master's Degree

The area studies master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to area studies students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other area studies students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for area studies to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized area studies related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for area studies students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Area Studies Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Area Studies in the Great Lakes Region

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for area studies students seeking a a master's degree.

Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Master's in Area Studies

1

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI

11 Annual Graduates

$53,121 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat University of Michigan - Ann Arbor if you wish to pursue a master's degree in area studies. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.

Master's recipients from the area studies program at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor make $8,739 above the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in area studies from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

1

University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

12 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in area studies needs to check out University of Wisconsin - Madison. UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a master’s in area studies from University of Wisconsin - Madison

2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL

14 Annual Graduates

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in area studies. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign.More information about a master’s in area studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3

University of Chicago
Chicago, IL

30 Annual Graduates

$35,643 Median Starting Salary

University of Chicago is a great option for students interested in a master's degree in area studies. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.

Master's students who receive their degree from the area studies program make an average of $35,643 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in area studies from University of Chicago

4

Indiana University - Bloomington
Bloomington, IN

26 Annual Graduates

Indiana University - Bloomington is a great decision for students interested in a master's degree in area studies. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in area studies from Indiana University - Bloomington

5

University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL

6 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in area studies from University of Illinois at Chicago

6

Ohio State University - Main Campus
Columbus, OH

3 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in area studies from Ohio State University - Main Campus

Best Area Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best area studies colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Illinois	221	55
Michigan	211	11
Ohio	207	28
Indiana	191	29
Wisconsin	173	12

View All Rankings >

Area Studies Related Rankings by Major

Area Studies is one of 2 different types of Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies programs to choose from.

Area Studies Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Near & Middle Eastern Studies	31
East Asian Studies	19
Latin American Studies	19
Russian Studies	15
African Studies	14
American U.S. Studies	6
Central & Eastern European Studies	6
Asian Studies	5
European Studies	4
Ural-Altaic & Central Asian Studies	4

Majors Similar to Area Studies

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Ethnic Studies	74

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Karl Udo Gerth. More about our data sources and methodologies.