2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $75-$110k) in California

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Area Studies is the 106th most popular major in the country with 6,820 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,734 and had an average of $23,024 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,008 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,743 and $17,480 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 11 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the area studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 3 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $75-$110k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California

#1 in overall quality

$55,011 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 2 degrees to qualified doctorate’s area studies students in 2019-2020.

Stanford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Stanford Area Studies Report

#2

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California

#2 in overall quality

$29,347 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school awarded 6 degrees to qualified doctorate’s area studies students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Area Studies at UC Berkeley

#3

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$48,715 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k. University of Southern California is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 3 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at USC are $48,715.

Read full report on Area Studies at USC

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $75-$110k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $75-$110k)

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Karl Udo Gerth.

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