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2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s

15 Ranked Colleges
135 Degrees Awarded
$44,382 Avg Salary
Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master's

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Area Studies is the 115th most popular major in the country with 6,966 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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 the Great Lakes region, there were 808 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,342 and $21,486 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 135 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,892 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s” ranking looked at 15 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in area studies. This ranking identifies schools that graduate the most students in area studies.

For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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The area studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s”.

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. 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 in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s”.

1
UChicago crest
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 15 schools in the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s area studies degrees to 30 students in 2020-2021.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, 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 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Area Studies at UChicago

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Indiana University - Bloomington. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s area studies degrees to 26 students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, 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.

Read full report on Area Studies at Indiana University - Bloomington

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. Athens, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s area studies degrees to 20 students in 2020-2021.

Read more about Area Studies at Ohio University - Athens Campus

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 14 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Area Studies at UIUC

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, 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 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Area Studies at UW - Madison

6

With a ranking of #6, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. U-M is a large public school situated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It awarded 11 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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%.

Full University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Area Studies Report

7

University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 6 masters’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%.

Read full report on Area Studies at UIC

8

Northeastern Illinois University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking. Northeastern Illinois University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 masters’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

Full Northeastern Illinois University Area Studies Report

8

Bowling Green State University - Main Campus ranked #8 on this year’s Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. BGSU is a fairly large public school situated in Bowling Green, Ohio. It awarded 5 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Area Studies at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus

10

With a ranking of #10, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. Located in Columbus, Ohio, this large public school handed out 3 diplomas to qualified masters’s area studies students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, 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 94%.

Read more about Area Studies at Ohio State University - Main Campus

11
Valpo crest
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso, Indiana

Valparaiso University ranked #11 on this year’s Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. Valpo is a private not-for-profit institution located in Valparaiso, Indiana. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.0% 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 Valparaiso University

12
Purdue crest
Purdue University - Main Campus
West Lafayette, Indiana

Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking. Purdue is located in West Lafayette, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 masters’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

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 school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Area Studies at Purdue

13

Youngstown State University ranked #13 on this year’s Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. This fairly large school is located in Youngstown, Ohio, and it awarded 0 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.

Full Youngstown State University Area Studies Report

13
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking. DePaul is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 11 masters’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Area Studies at DePaul University

13
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

With a ranking of #13, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Area Studies Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 17 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Area Studies at Northwestern University

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