2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Area Studies for a Master’s
3
Ranked Colleges
564
Degrees Awarded
$35,500
Avg Cost*
When it comes to choosing a college, veterans have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Area Studies for a Master’s” ranking - to help you make that decision.
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 the Southwest region, there were 971 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,908 and $20,361 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Area Studies for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area studies programs, but they also offer a lot of support to veterans and active service members.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the area studies program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran satisfaction. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Area Studies for a Master’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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Area Studies for a Master’s
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Area Studies for a Master’s”.
Top 3 Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region
Out of the 3 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Area Studies for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Arizona is a large school located in Tucson, Arizona that handed out 18 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Arizona did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list.Of the 45,601 students enrolled at University of Arizona, 2,131 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1,478 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $8,880. To help with additional expenses, 31 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Arizona does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of Arizona Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 3 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Area Studies for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Austin landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Austin, Texas, this large public school awarded 34 degrees to qualified masters’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
UT Austin did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list.According to our most recent data, The University of Texas at Austin supports 50,476 students, and 7 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $2,893. During this same period, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
[Read full report on veteran student life at The University of Texas at Austin]](/colleges/the-university-of-texas-at-austin/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Area Studies for a Master’s. University of New Mexico - Main Campus is a public institution located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UNM also made our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #3.Among the 22,311 students enrolled at UNM, 1 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
[Read full report on veteran student life at University of New Mexico - Main Campus]](/colleges/university-of-new-mexico-main-campus/student-life/veterans/)
Focus on a Specific Degree Level
Switch to a More General Major
Switch to a Similar Major
Switch to a More Focused Major
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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
college factual
