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Best Value Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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.

Top 10 Best Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Long Beach the best value school in California for area studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year. 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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#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 very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

SDSU undergraduate students pay an average of $8,136 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#3

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

Out of the 19 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Francisco State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

SFSU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,304 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fullerton. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a very large student population.

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

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

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

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UC Berkeley also is in the top 10% of our Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking.

Full Area Studies at University of California - Berkeley Report

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With a ranking of #6, California State University - Chico did quite well on this year’s best value schools for area studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Chico, Chico State is a public school with a large student population.

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

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California State University - Northridge 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 #7 on the list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the city of Northridge.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUN are $7,043 a year.

Full Area Studies at California State University - Northridge Report

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With a ranking of #8, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best value schools for area studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

UCLA undergraduate students pay an average of $13,258 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, area studies graduates from UCLA carry an average student debtload of $17,916.

In addition to its great value ranking, UCLA is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.

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University of California - Davis 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 #9 on the list. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Davis are $14,645 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UC Davis is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.

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California State University - Sacramento ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Sac State is a very large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year.

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Best Value Area Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Area Studies Colleges 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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