2024 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies in Maryland
2
Ranked Colleges
151
Degrees Awarded
$18,800
Avg Net Price*
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 in Maryland” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 6,966 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 115th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $33,127 and had an average of $20,927 in loans still to pay off.
Across Maryland, there were 151 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,483 and $20,176 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Maryland” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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 picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Maryland” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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 in Maryland
The colleges and universities below are the best for maryland area studies students.
Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies in Maryland
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland - College Park. It ranked #1 on our 2024 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Maryland list. University of Maryland - College Park is a large school located in College Park, Maryland that handed out 36 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UMCP also took the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Maryland” ranking. It costs about $18,048 for Maryland Area Studies students per year to attend UMCP.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Area Studies at University of Maryland - College Park
Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Maryland that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Maryland - Baltimore County landed the #2 spot on the list. UMBC is a public institution located in Baltimore, Maryland. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 16 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UMBC also made our “Best Area Studies Schools in Maryland” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $19,460 for maryland area studies students per year to attend UMBC.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Area Studies at UMBC
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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
- *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