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Best Value Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

19 Colleges
$19,400 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$31,493 Avg Salary

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.

The Best Value Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in California to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for area studies students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found California State University - Long Beach to be the best value school for area studies students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in California. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year. Area Studies majors at CSULB take out an average of $17,515 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Area Studies at California State University - Long Beach

#2

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at San Diego State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value area studies schools in California. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SDSU are $8,136 per year.

Read More…

#3

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means San Francisco State University is a great value for area studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. SFSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Francisco.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SFSU are $7,304 per year.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Cal State Fullerton undergraduate students pay an average of $6,976 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, area studies graduates from Cal State Fullerton carry an average student debtload of $17,763.

Read full report on Area Studies at California State University - Fullerton

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great value for area studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Berkeley are $14,226 a year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, area studies majors at UC Berkeley accumulate an average of around $17,653 in student debt.

UC Berkeley also claimed a spot on our Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of California - Berkeley

California State University - Chico did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for area studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of Chico, Chico State is a public college with a large student population.

Chico State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,864 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Area Studies at California State University - Chico Report

California State University - Northridge landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree area studies programs. CSUN is a very large public school located in the large city of Northridge.

CSUN undergraduate students pay an average of $7,043 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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University of California - Los Angeles ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCLA are $13,258 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, area studies graduates from UCLA carry an average student debtload of $17,916.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCLA also is in the top 15% of our Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking.

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University of California - Davis ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Davis are $14,645 a year.

UC Davis also claimed a spot on our Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

California State University - Sacramento landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree area studies programs. Sac State is a very large public school located in the city of Sacramento.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year.

Full Area Studies at California State University - Sacramento Report

Best Value Area Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value 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.

  • 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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