Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in Washington

5 Ranked Colleges
246 Degrees Awarded
$13,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Washington

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Bachelor’s in Washington” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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 Washington, there were 282 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,350 and $23,411 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 246 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,202 and $21,977 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree in area studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality area studies programs that also have a lower cost than 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.

More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools

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 Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington” list to help you make the college decision.

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 Bachelor’s in Washington

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in Washington

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington list. This large school is located in Seattle, Washington, and it awarded 193 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UW Seattle did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” list. The yearly cost to attend UW Seattle is $13,297 for washington bachelor’s degree area studies students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 UW Seattle Area Studies Report

#2

Western Washington University

Bellingham, Washington

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Washington University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington list. Western Washington University is a fairly large public school situated in Bellingham, Washington. It awarded 18 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

WWU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” list. The yearly cost to attend Western Washington University is $16,529 for washington bachelor’s degree area studies students.

The low 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%.

Full Western Washington University Area Studies Report

#3

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Washington State University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington list. Wazzu is located in Pullman, Washington and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

Wazzu did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” list. It costs about $16,358 for Washington Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students per year to attend Wazzu.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at Wazzu

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Tacoma Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington list. University of Washington - Tacoma Campus is located in Tacoma, Washington and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our washington bachelor’s degree area studies students list, UW Tacoma has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Washington - Tacoma Campus is $10,817 for Washington Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Area Studies at UW Tacoma

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Bothell Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington list. This medium-sized school is located in Bothell, Washington, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UW Bothell also took the #5 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” ranking. It costs about $11,060 for Washington Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students per year to attend University of Washington - Bothell Campus.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at University of Washington - Bothell Campus

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