Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

11 Ranked Colleges
127 Degrees Awarded
$31,300 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master's in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 6,820 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 106th most popular in the United States. 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 the Great Lakes region, there were 850 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,363 and $22,838 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 127 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,039 and $42,488 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 11 colleges that offered a degree in area studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great area studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the area studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools

The area studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid.

Top 11 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Ann Arbor, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s area studies degrees to 22 students in 2019-2020.

U-M not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at U-M are $49,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Area Studies at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 14 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Area Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#3

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana
#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Purdue University - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid. Purdue is a public institution located in West Lafayette, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Purdue not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Purdue are $28,794, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Area Studies at Purdue University - Main Campus

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. University of Wisconsin - Madison is located in Madison, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 masters’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

UW - Madison also took the #4 spot in our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UW - Madison are $25,523.

Read more about Area Studies at UW - Madison

#5

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Indiana University - Bloomington. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s area studies degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

IU Bloomington also made our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #5. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at IU Bloomington are $33,338.

Full IU Bloomington Area Studies Report

#8 in overall quality

University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 6 masters’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIC, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036.

Full UIC Area Studies Report

#9 in overall quality

Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Ohio State is a large school located in Columbus, Ohio that handed out 4 masters’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Ohio State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Ohio State University - Main Campus are $37,141, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Ohio State Area Studies Report

Northeastern Illinois University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Northeastern Illinois University is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northeastern Illinois University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #0 on our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northeastern Illinois University are $17,032, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Northeastern Illinois University Area Studies Report

#10 in overall quality

Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Bowling Green State University - Main Campus is located in Bowling Green, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 masters’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

BGSU also made our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #10. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at BGSU are $15,823.

Read full report on Area Studies at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus

#7 in overall quality

Ohio University - Athens Campus landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Ohio University - Athens Campus is a public institution located in Athens, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 20 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at OHIO Athens, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at OHIO Athens are $17,712, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Area Studies at OHIO Athens

#11

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #11, University of Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. UChicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 25 masters’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

UChicago also took the #2 spot in our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548.

Read more about Area Studies at University of Chicago

Switch to a More Focused Major

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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

Featured Political and Social Sciences Schools

Find Schools Near You