2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Indiana

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Indiana” ranking as one item you can use to help make this 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 Indiana, there were 96 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 64 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,620 and $24,786 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Indiana” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 Indiana” list to help you make the college 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 Bachelor’s in Indiana

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

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in Indiana

#1

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana

#2 in overall quality

$13,986 Average Net Price

$41,565 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Indiana that were part of this year’s ranking, Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #1 spot on the list. Purdue University - Main Campus is located in West Lafayette, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

Purdue did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Indiana” list. The estimated yearly cost for Purdue University - Main Campus is $13,986 for indiana bachelor’s degree area studies students.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 Purdue University - Main Campus Area Studies Report

#2

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana

#3 in overall quality

$13,253 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Indiana University - Bloomington. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Indiana. This large school is located in Bloomington, Indiana, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our indiana bachelor’s degree area studies students list, IU Bloomington has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Indiana” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Indiana University - Bloomington is $13,253 for indiana bachelor’s degree area studies students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at IU Bloomington

#3

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, Indiana

#1 in overall quality

$33,025 Average Net Price

$38,289 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Notre Dame. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Indiana list. University of Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Notre Dame, Indiana. It awarded 24 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Notre Dame not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Indiana” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Notre Dame is $33,025 for indiana bachelor’s degree area studies students.

The low student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of Notre Dame

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies

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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