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Best Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

2023 Best Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

19 Colleges
$31,493 Avg Salary
$20,522 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Area Studies Bachelor's Degree School for You

Area Studies is the #98 most popular major in California with 879 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in California to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for area studies majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 10 Best Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in California for area studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great place for area studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, area studies majors at UC Berkeley accumulate an average of around $17,653 in student debt.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Davis is a great place for area studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a very large student population.

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#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

Out of the 19 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

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#5

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

Out of the 19 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of San Francisco landed the # 5 spot on the list. USFCA is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

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University of California - Los Angeles landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree area studies programs. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, area studies graduates from UCLA carry an average student debtload of $17,916.

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With a ranking of #7, University of California - San Diego did quite well on this year’s best schools for area studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

Full Area Studies at University of California - San Diego Report

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#8

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

Loyola Marymount University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree area studies programs. Loyola Marymount is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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California State University - Long Beach came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Area Studies majors at CSULB take out an average of $17,515 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #10 on this year’s Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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Best Area Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 236
Oregon 56
Nevada 4
Hawaii 57
Alaska 1

One of 2 majors within the area of study, area studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Area Studies

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

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 19 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Karl Udo Gerth.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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