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2023 Best Value Colleges for Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies in the Plains States Region

7 Ranked Colleges
1,755 Degrees Awarded
$16,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 16,243 people earned their degree in area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies, making the major the 30th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,881 and had an average of $22,102 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 1,755 area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,041 and $24,013 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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The area, ethnic, culture, & gender 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 Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region.

Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies in the Plains States Region

1

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Duluth landed the #1 spot on the list. UMN Duluth is located in Duluth, Minnesota and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 22 ’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees to qualified students.

UMN Duluth also took the #3 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UMN Duluth is $18,505 for Plains States Region Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at University of Minnesota - Duluth

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Haskell Indian Nations University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region. Lawrence, Kansas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees to 22 students in 2020-2021.

Haskell did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $3,271 for Plains States Region Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students per year to attend Haskell Indian Nations University.

Read more about Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at Haskell Indian Nations University

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region list. Iowa State is a large school located in Ames, Iowa that handed out 26 ’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa State, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State University is $16,002 for Plains States Region Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at Iowa State

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Missouri - Columbia. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region. This large school is located in Columbia, Missouri, and it awarded 1,019 ’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mizzou, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Missouri - Columbia is $16,559 for Plains States Region Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, 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 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Mizzou Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Report

5

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #5 spot on the list. UMN Twin Cities is a large school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 45 ’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our plains states region area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students list, UMN Twin Cities has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is $17,878 for Plains States Region Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at UMN Twin Cities

6
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

With a ranking of #6, University of Iowa did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region list. Iowa City, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees to 105 students in 2020-2021.

Iowa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Iowa is $19,401 for plains states region area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at Iowa

7
St. Olaf crest
St Olaf College
Northfield, Minnesota

St Olaf College landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. St Olaf College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Northfield, Minnesota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 55 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

St. Olaf also made our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend St Olaf College is $24,052 for Plains States Region Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at St. Olaf

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References

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