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2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Economics in the Southwest Region

12 Ranked Colleges
65 Degrees Awarded
$33,500 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest 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 “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Economics is the 19th most popular major in the country with 49,055 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, economics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $48,736 and had an average of $22,046 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southwest region, there were 2,950 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $48,930 and $21,274 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 65 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,218 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in economics. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in economics.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region”.

Top 12 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Economics in the Southwest Region

1
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, Texas

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Rice University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region. Located in Houston, Texas, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 3 degrees to qualified doctorate’s economics students in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full Rice University Economics Report

2

Out of the 12 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Oklahoma Norman Campus landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Oklahoma Norman Campus is located in Norman, Oklahoma and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 doctorate’s economics degrees to qualified students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Economics at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

3
UH crest
University of Houston
Houston, Texas

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Houston. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region list. University of Houston is a public institution located in Houston, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full UH Economics Report

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Dallas. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region list. Richardson, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s economics degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.8% 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 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UT Dallas Economics Report

5

Out of the 12 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Methodist University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Dallas, Texas, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 3 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s economics students in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.1% 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 Economics at SMU

6

University of New Mexico - Main Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region ranking. University of New Mexico - Main Campus is a public institution located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Economics at University of New Mexico - Main Campus

7

The University of Texas at Austin landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in Austin, Texas, this large public school handed out 11 degrees to qualified doctorate’s economics students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Economics at UT Austin

8
Texas Tech crest
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas

Texas Tech University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in Lubbock, Texas, this large public school awarded 5 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s economics students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Texas Tech Economics Report

9
University of Arizona crest
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona

With a ranking of #9, University of Arizona did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region list. This large school is located in Tucson, Arizona, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Economics at University of Arizona

10

With a ranking of #10, Arizona State University - Tempe did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region list. ASU - Tempe is a large public school situated in Tempe, Arizona. It awarded 7 doctorate’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% 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 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full ASU - Tempe Economics Report

11

With a ranking of #11, Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region list. Texas A&M College Station is located in College Station, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 doctorate’s economics degrees to qualified students.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Economics at Texas A&M College Station

12

New Mexico State University - Main Campus ranked #12 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Economics Major in the Southwest Region list. New Mexico State University - Main Campus is located in Las Cruces, New Mexico and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 26 doctorate’s economics degrees to qualified students.

Full NMSU Main Campus Economics Report

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