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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in the Rocky Mountains Region

5 Ranked Colleges
213 Degrees Awarded
$15,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in the Rocky Mountains Region

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 the Rocky Mountains Region” 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 the Rocky Mountains region, there were 231 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,300 and $16,005 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 213 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,111 and $23,874 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer 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.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the area studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools

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 Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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 when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region

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

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in the Rocky Mountains Region

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brigham Young University - Provo. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region. This large school is located in Provo, Utah, and it awarded 69 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region bachelor’s degree area studies students list, BYU has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $13,322 for Rocky Mountains Region Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students per year to attend Brigham Young University - Provo.

With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Brigham Young University - Provo Area Studies Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Utah State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region list. USU is a large school located in Logan, Utah that handed out 54 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

USU also took the #4 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Utah State University is $13,634 for Rocky Mountains Region Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students.

Full USU Area Studies Report

#3

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Utah. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region list. This large school is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it awarded 25 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region bachelor’s degree area studies students list, U of U has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Utah is $14,773 for rocky mountains region bachelor’s degree area studies students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, 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 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Utah Area Studies Report

#4

The University of Montana

Missoula, Montana
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Montana. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region. The University of Montana is a medium-sized public school situated in Missoula, Montana. It awarded 5 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UM not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend The University of Montana is $15,246 for rocky mountains region bachelor’s degree area studies students.

Read full report on Area Studies at UM

#3 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Colorado Boulder landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Boulder, Colorado, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

CU - Boulder did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for CU - Boulder is $21,680 for rocky mountains region bachelor’s degree area studies students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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 85%.

Read full report on Area Studies at CU - Boulder

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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.

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