2024 Best Value Colleges for Ethnic Studies in Massachusetts
9
Ranked Colleges
300
Degrees Awarded
$25,300
Avg Net Price*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 9,231 people earned their degree in ethnic studies, making the major the 99th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, ethnic studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $30,818 and had an average of $22,901 in loans still to pay off.
Across Massachusetts, there were 300 ethnic studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,830 and $23,931 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in ethnic studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great ethnic studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the ethnic studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Ethnic Studies Schools
The ethnic 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 “Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts”.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools 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.
Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts
The colleges and universities below are the best for massachusetts ethnic studies students.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Ethnic Studies in Massachusetts
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Massachusetts Amherst landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Massachusetts Amherst is a large school located in Amherst, Massachusetts that handed out 42 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMass Amherst, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UMass Amherst is $22,038 for massachusetts ethnic studies students.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% 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 Ethnic Studies at UMass Amherst
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Massachusetts - Boston. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts. UMass Boston is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 28 ’s ethnic studies degrees to qualified students.
UMass Boston did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts” list. The estimated yearly cost for UMass Boston is $17,752 for massachusetts ethnic studies students.
Read more about Ethnic Studies at UMass Boston
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, Wheaton College Massachusetts landed the #3 spot on the list. Wheaton College Massachusetts is a small school located in Norton, Massachusetts that handed out 22 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our massachusetts ethnic studies students list, Wheaton College Massachusetts has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $26,575 for massachusetts ethnic studies students per year to attend Wheaton College Massachusetts.
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 full report on Ethnic Studies at Wheaton College Massachusetts
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mount Holyoke College. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts list. Mount Holyoke College is a small school located in South Hadley, Massachusetts that handed out 12 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mt. Holyoke, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Mount Holyoke College is $28,724 for massachusetts ethnic studies students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 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 impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Ethnic Studies at Mt. Holyoke
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Williams College. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts list. Williams is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It awarded 7 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our massachusetts ethnic studies students list, Williams has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $23,497 for massachusetts ethnic studies students per year to attend Williams.
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.
Full Williams Ethnic Studies Report
Smith College did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #6. Smith is a small school located in Northampton, Massachusetts that handed out 26 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Smith not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts” list. The yearly cost to attend Smith College is $29,615 for Massachusetts Ethnic Studies students.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Smith College Ethnic Studies Report
Brandeis University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts list. Brandeis University is located in Waltham, Massachusetts and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 23 ’s ethnic studies degrees to qualified students.
Brandeis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts” list. The yearly cost to attend Brandeis is $33,663 for massachusetts ethnic studies students.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read more about Ethnic Studies at Brandeis
Amherst College landed the #8 spot on the 2024 Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts ranking. Amherst is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Amherst, Massachusetts. It awarded 8 ’s ethnic studies degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our massachusetts ethnic studies students list, Amherst has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Amherst College is $21,657 for massachusetts ethnic studies students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 98%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Ethnic Studies at Amherst College
With a ranking of #9, Wellesley College did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts list. Wellesley, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s ethnic studies degrees to 31 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Wellesley, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Ethnic Studies Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Wellesley College is $23,908 for Massachusetts Ethnic Studies students.
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 school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. 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.
Read more about Ethnic Studies at Wellesley
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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
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees 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.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to G. MГјtzel.
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