2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in the Southeast Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Doctorate in the Southeast Region” 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 the Southeast region, there were 1,003 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,229 and $21,228 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 15 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,978 and $116,300 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area studies programs, but they also cost less that 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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region

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

Top 3 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in the Southeast Region

#1

William & Mary

Williamsburg, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$34,800 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, William & Mary landed the #1 spot on the list. William & Mary is a public institution located in Williamsburg, Virginia. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

William & Mary also made our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #1. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at William & Mary are $34,800.

Full William & Mary Area Studies Report

#1

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

#3 in overall quality

$30,248 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region list. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a large school located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina that handed out 1 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UNC Chapel Hill, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UNC Chapel Hill are $30,248.

Full UNC Chapel Hill Area Studies Report

#2

Tulane University of Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

#2 in overall quality

$61,176 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Tulane University of Louisiana. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region. Tulane University of Louisiana is a fairly large school located in New Orleans, Louisiana that handed out 3 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Tulane did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Tulane University of Louisiana are $61,176.

Read more about Area Studies at Tulane

• Best Value Doctor’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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