2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in California
14
Ranked Colleges
129
Degrees Awarded
$48,121
Avg Salary
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.
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 California, there were 880 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,544 and $17,829 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 129 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,974 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California” ranking, we looked at 14 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their area studies program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools
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 “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California” 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California
The colleges and universities below are the best for california master’s degree area studies students.
Top 14 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California. Stanford University is located in Stanford, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 28 masters’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Area Studies at Stanford
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of San Francisco. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California. University of San Francisco is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 17 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Area Studies at University of San Francisco
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Pepperdine University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California. Pepperdine University is located in Malibu, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 masters’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 Pepperdine University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California list. California State University - Los Angeles is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 16 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Cal State LA Area Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 17 diplomas to qualified masters’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Area Studies at University of Southern California
University of California - Los Angeles came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California ranking. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 11 degrees to qualified masters’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UCLA Area Studies Report
California State University - Fullerton landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California ranking. Cal State Fullerton is located in Fullerton, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 masters’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Area Studies at Cal State Fullerton
University of California - Berkeley came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California ranking. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 8 degrees to qualified masters’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 UC Berkeley
California State University - Long Beach landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California ranking. CSULB is a large school located in Long Beach, California that handed out 6 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Area Studies at California State University - Long Beach
University of California - San Diego came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California ranking. University of California - San Diego is a public institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - San Diego Area Studies Report
University of California - Riverside ranked #11 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California list. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified masters’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 full report on Area Studies at UCR
University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California ranking. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large public school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 1 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of California - Santa Barbara Area Studies Report
With a ranking of #13, San Diego State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California list. San Diego, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s area studies degrees to 1 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Area Studies at SDSU
University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in California ranking, coming in at #14. University of California - Davis is a large school located in Davis, California that handed out 1 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%.
Full UC Davis 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
- *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.
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