2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in District of Columbia

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in District of Columbia” ranking.

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 District of Columbia, there were 206 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $55,019 and $26,000 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 7 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $81,283 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in District of Columbia” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in area studies. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in area studies.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in District of Columbia

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in District of Columbia”.

Top 3 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in District of Columbia

1

Howard University
Washington, District of Columbia

#6 overall quality in District of Columbia

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Howard University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in District of Columbia list. Howard is a private not-for-profit institution located in Washington, District of Columbia. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Area Studies at Howard

2

Georgetown University
Washington, District of Columbia

#1 overall quality in District of Columbia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Georgetown University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in District of Columbia. This large school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Area Studies at Georgetown University

3

George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia

#2 overall quality in District of Columbia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Washington University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in District of Columbia. This large school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%.

Read more about Area Studies at George Washington University

• Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Most Focused 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

• *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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.