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2024 Best Area Studies Schools

95 Colleges in the United States
6,966 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$33,127 Avg Early-Career Salary
Area Studies is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #115 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual reviewed 95 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of area studies. Combined, these schools handed out 6,966 degrees in area studies to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Area Studies School

Best Area Studies Schools The area studies program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Area Studies rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for area studies schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Area Studies Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Area Studies
Master's Degrees in Area Studies
Doctor's Degrees in Area Studies

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 Best Area Studies Schools list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Area Studies in the United States

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the area studies degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

14 Top Schools in Area Studies

1
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
132 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$59,362 Median Starting Salary

Georgetown University is a good decision for students interested in a degree in area studies. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.

There were approximately 132 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the area studies degree program at Georgetown University make $26,235 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in area studies from Georgetown University

2
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
101 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$37,471 Median Starting Salary

Brown University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in area studies. Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.

There were approximately 101 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the area studies major at Brown University earn $4,344 above the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in area studies from Brown University

3
Dartmouth crest
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
49 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
16.3% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat Dartmouth College if you wish to pursue a degree in area studies. Dartmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit college located in the remote town of Hanover. A Best Colleges rank of #25 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Dartmouth is a great college overall.

There were about 49 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Dartmouth in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the area studies program at Dartmouth College get $14,175 above the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in area studies from Dartmouth College

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
121 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
6.6% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat Columbia University in the City of New York if you wish to pursue a degree in area studies. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were about 121 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. Area Studies degree recipients from Columbia University in the City of New York get an earnings boost of about $17,084 over the average earnings of area studies graduates.

More information about a degree in area studies from Columbia University in the City of New York

5
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
43 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$48,121 Median Starting Salary

Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were roughly 43 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the area studies program at Stanford University earn $14,994 more than the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in area studies from Stanford University

6
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
55 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$43,489 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.

There were about 55 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the area studies degree program at Duke University earn $10,362 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in area studies from Duke University

7
Bowdoin crest
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, ME
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
51 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$46,244 Median Starting Salary

Bowdoin is a small private not-for-profit college located in the town of Brunswick. This college ranks 1st out of 19 colleges for overall quality in the state of Maine.

There were roughly 51 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Bowdoin in the most recent year we have data available. Those area studies students who get their degree from Bowdoin College earn $13,117 more than the standard area studies graduate.

More information about a degree in area studies from Bowdoin College

8
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
58 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$27,225 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Yale is a great university overall.

There were approximately 58 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the area studies program report average early career earnings of $27,225.

More information about a degree in area studies from Yale University

9
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
51 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
9.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Emory is a great university overall.

There were about 51 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the area studies program state that they receive average early career earnings of $27,258.

More information about a degree in area studies from Emory University

10
Barnard crest
Barnard College
New York, NY
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
36 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
11.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of New York, Barnard is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 6th out of 142 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were about 36 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Barnard in the most recent year we have data available. Area Studies degree recipients from Barnard College receive an earnings boost of approximately $9,856 over the average income of area studies majors.

More information about a degree in area studies from Barnard College

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
49 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$30,086 Median Starting Salary

Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Ithaca. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.

There were approximately 49 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the area studies program earn about $30,086 for their early career.

More information about a degree in area studies from Cornell University

12
Wellesley crest
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$36,749 Median Starting Salary
$9,725 Median Student Debt

Located in the large suburb of Wellesley, Wellesley is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 12th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were about 23 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Wellesley in the most recent data year. Area Studies degree recipients from Wellesley College get an earnings boost of about $3,622 over the typical income of area studies majors.

More information about a degree in area studies from Wellesley College

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
105 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$40,373 Median Starting Salary

UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 105 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Those area studies students who get their degree from University of California - Berkeley receive $7,246 more than the typical area studies student.

More information about a degree in area studies from University of California - Berkeley

14
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
70 Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$38,853 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Waltham, Brandeis is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 14th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were roughly 70 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Brandeis in the most recent year we have data available. Those area studies students who get their degree from Brandeis University earn $5,726 more than the standard area studies graduate.

More information about a degree in area studies from Brandeis University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Area Studies Schools award.

Rank College Location
15 University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA
16 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
17 New York University New York, NY
18 Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
19 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
20 University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
21 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
22 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
23 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA

Area Studies by Region

View the Best Area Studies Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Area Studies is one of 2 different types of Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies programs to choose from.

Area Studies Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
American U.S. Studies 1,419
Asian Studies 925
Area Studies, Other 775
Regional Studies (U.S., Canadian, Foreign) 686
Latin American Studies 632
East Asian Studies 627
Near & Middle Eastern Studies 411
African Studies 213
Russian Studies 166
European Studies 155

View All Area Studies Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Area Studies

Related Major Annual Graduates
Ethnic Studies 9,231
Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies (Other) 46

View All Area Studies Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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