2027 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in District of Columbia

[Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies](/majors/ethnic-cultural-gender-studies/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies education at a price that pays off.
For its 2027 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 5 schools to find the best return on investment for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students.
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2027 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in District of Columbia
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools
Our analysis ranked Gallaudet University the best value for a degree in area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies in District of Columbia. Gallaudet University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $19,654. Typical student debt for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies graduates is $28,125. Early-career area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies graduates make about $31,541. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Gallaudet University admits about 58% of applicants.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at George Washington University earned it the #2 place for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies. Set in the city of Washington, George Washington University is a very large private not-for-profit institution. Students from in state pay about $67,710 in tuition and fees. Typical student debt for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies graduates is $25,500. Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies graduates of George Washington University earn a median of $73,749 early in their careers. Set against $25,500 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 47% of applicants are accepted.
Students looking for strong value in area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies will find it at Georgetown University, which ranked #3. Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown University is a very large private not-for-profit university. Students from in state pay about $68,089 in tuition and fees. Typical student debt for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies graduates is $17,000. Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies graduates of Georgetown University earn a median of $64,811 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $17,000 median debt. Roughly 13% of applicants are accepted.
A rank of #4 makes American University one of the best values for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies. Set in the city of Washington, American University is a large private not-for-profit institution. Students from in state pay about $58,771 in tuition and fees. Typical student debt for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies graduates is $26,810. Early-career area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies graduates make about $44,081. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. The acceptance rate is 62%.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Howard University earned it the #5 place for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies. Howard University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington. Students from in state pay about $35,810 in tuition and fees. Students borrow a median of $25,498 to complete the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program here. Early-career area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies graduates make about $58,495. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Howard University admits about 41% of applicants.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2027 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 5 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 5 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.