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2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region

7 Ranked Colleges
27 Degrees Awarded
$30,000 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region” 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 doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 27 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,428 and $121,375 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. 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 Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region doctor’s degree area studies students.

Top 7 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in the Great Lakes Region

#1 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #1 spot on the list. UW - Madison is a large public school situated in Madison, Wisconsin. It awarded 4 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UW - Madison not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UW - Madison are $25,523.

Full UW - Madison Area Studies Report

#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bowling Green State University - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region list. BGSU is a public institution located in Bowling Green, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 9 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

BGSU also made our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #7. Average graduate tuition and fees at BGSU are $15,823, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Area Studies at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus

#3

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in West Lafayette, Indiana, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Purdue did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Area Studies Doctor’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 more about Area Studies at Purdue University - Main Campus

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UIUC Area Studies Report

#5

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indiana University - Bloomington. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Bloomington, Indiana, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region doctor’s degree area studies students list, IU Bloomington has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at IU Bloomington are $33,338, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Indiana University - Bloomington Area Studies Report

#6 in overall quality

University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of Illinois at Chicago Area Studies Report

#2 in overall quality

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region list. U-M is a large school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 2 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

U-M also took the #2 spot in our “Best Area Studies Doctor’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 U-M are $49,548.

Full University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Area Studies Report

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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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