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2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s

419 Ranked Colleges
4,550 Degrees Awarded
$31,493 Avg Salary
Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor's

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s” 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.

At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 4,550 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,682 and $26,217 respectively.

This year’s “Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s” ranking analyzed 419 colleges that offered a degree in area studies. To top this list, a school must have a successful area studies program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools

Rankings by Degree Other Award Levels
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More Area Studies Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s

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

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, this large public school awarded 219 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Area Studies Report

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s. Located in Seattle, Washington, this large public school awarded 159 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Area Studies at UW Seattle

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #3 for the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 96 students in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. 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%.

Full University of California - Berkeley Area Studies Report

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s list. University of California - Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 92 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

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%.

Read more about Area Studies at UCLA

5

Out of the 419 schools in the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary landed the #5 spot on the list. Fort-Worth, Texas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 81 students in 2020-2021.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Area Studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

6
Wesleyan U crest
Wesleyan University
Middletown, Connecticut

With a ranking of #6, Wesleyan University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s list. Wesleyan U is located in Middletown, Connecticut and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 79 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 Wesleyan University

7
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island

Brown University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s ranking. Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Providence, Rhode Island. It awarded 74 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Area Studies at Brown

8

University of Missouri - Columbia ranked #8 on this year’s Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s list. Mizzou is a large school located in Columbia, Missouri that handed out 70 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Full Mizzou Area Studies Report

9

Brigham Young University - Provo came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s ranking. Located in Provo, Utah, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 69 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, 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 Brigham Young University - Provo

10

With a ranking of #10, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s list. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 64 students in 2020-2021.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.

Full Columbia University in the City of New York Area Studies Report

10
Brandeis crest
Brandeis University
Waltham, Massachusetts

Brandeis University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s ranking. Located in Waltham, Massachusetts, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 64 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s area studies students 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. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% 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 Brandeis Area Studies Report

12

With a ranking of #12, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s list. Austin, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 62 students in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, 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 UT Austin

13

Virginia Commonwealth University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s ranking. VCU is located in Richmond, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 60 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 Virginia Commonwealth University Area Studies Report

14
Fordham U crest
Fordham University
Bronx, New York

With a ranking of #14, Fordham University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s list. Fordham U is located in Bronx, New York and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 59 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Full Fordham U Area Studies Report

15

Miami University - Oxford landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s ranking. Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public school situated in Oxford, Ohio. It awarded 56 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at Miami University - Oxford

16
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia

Emory University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #16. Emory is a private not-for-profit institution located in Atlanta, Georgia. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 51 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 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.

Read full report on Area Studies at Emory University

16

California State University - Fullerton ranked #16 on this year’s Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s list. California State University - Fullerton is a public institution located in Fullerton, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 51 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, 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.

Full Cal State Fullerton Area Studies Report

16
William & Mary crest
William & Mary
Williamsburg, Virginia

With a ranking of #16, William & Mary did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s list. This medium-sized school is located in Williamsburg, Virginia, and it awarded 51 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Area Studies at William & Mary

16
Bowdoin crest
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, Maine

Bowdoin College ranked #16 on this year’s Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s list. Brunswick, Maine is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 51 students in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Area Studies at Bowdoin College

20
NYU crest
New York University
New York, New York

New York University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s ranking. New York University is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 49 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.

Full New York University Area Studies Report

20

University of Maryland Global Campus did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #20. UMGC is located in Adelphi, Maryland and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 49 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at UMGC

20
Dartmouth crest
Dartmouth College
Hanover, New Hampshire

Dartmouth College landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s ranking. Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit institution located in Hanover, New Hampshire. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 49 bachelors’s degrees 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 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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 Dartmouth

23

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s ranking. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 48 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read more about Area Studies at U-M

24

With a ranking of #24, University of South Carolina - Columbia did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s list. This large school is located in Columbia, South Carolina, and it awarded 47 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full University of South Carolina - Columbia Area Studies Report

25
University of Arizona crest
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona

University of Arizona did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #25. Located in Tucson, Arizona, this large public school awarded 44 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Full University of Arizona Area Studies Report

Rest of the Best 52 in Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s

Not only did these schools make the top 52 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

26
27
Oberlin crest
Oberlin College
Oberlin, Ohio
28
28
Cornell crest
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
30
Barnard crest
Barnard College
New York, New York
31
31
GWU crest
George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia
33
33
33
Smith crest
Smith College
Northampton, Massachusetts
36
Trinity Bantams crest
Trinity College
Hartford, Connecticut
36
38
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
38
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
40
40
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, Massachusetts
40
St. Olaf crest
St Olaf College
Northfield, Minnesota
43
Conn College crest
Connecticut College
New London, Connecticut
43
Furman crest
Furman University
Greenville, South Carolina
43
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee
43
Middlebury crest
Middlebury College
Middlebury, Vermont
47
Notre Dame crest
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana
47
Dickinson crest
Dickinson College
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
47
U of U crest
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
50
The American University crest
American University
Washington, District of Columbia
50
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, District of Columbia
50
UAlbany crest
University at Albany
Albany, New York

Rest of the Top 15% Colleges in Most Well Attended Area Studies Major for a Bachelor’s

While not in the ’top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

RankCollegeLocation
53Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA
54Stony Brook UniversityStony Brook, NY
54Wellesley CollegeWellesley, MA
56University of Maryland - College ParkCollege Park, MD
56University of KentuckyLexington, KY
56Colgate UniversityHamilton, NY
56University of KansasLawrence, KS
60University of Wisconsin - MadisonMadison, WI
60University of New Mexico - Main CampusAlbuquerque, NM
62Bucknell UniversityLewisburg, PA
62Hobart and William Smith CollegesGeneva, NY

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References

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