2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Area Studies School for You
Area Studies is the #112 most popular major in the country with 6,966 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This report analyzed 26 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for area studies students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Area Studies Schools
Our 2023 rankings named San Diego State University the best value school in the Far Western US Region for area studies students. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SDSU are $20,016 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.
CSULB undergraduate students pay an average of $18,726 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that area studies majors at CSULB take out is $13,367.
Read full report on Area Studies at California State University - Long Beach
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Francisco State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SFSU are $19,184 per 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 Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Cal State Fullerton are $18,856 a year. While working on their degree, area studies majors at Cal State Fullerton accumulate an average of around $19,429 in student debt.
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Out of the 26 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Chico landed the # 4 spot on the list. Chico State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Chico.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Chico State are $19,744 a year. On average, area studies graduates from Chico State take out $15,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #6, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on this year’s best value schools for area studies students. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley are $43,980 per year. The average amount in student loans that area studies majors at UC Berkeley take out is $17,000.
UC Berkeley also made our Best Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list, coming in at #3.
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University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW Seattle are $39,906 a year. After completing their degree, area studies graduates from UW Seattle carry an average student debtload of $17,251.
UW Seattle also claimed a spot on our Best Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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Stanford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for area studies students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Stanford undergraduate students pay an average of $56,169 in tuition and fees each year.
Stanford also took the #1 spot in our Best Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region rankings.
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University of Washington - Bothell Campus landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value area studies programs. UW Bothell is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Bothell.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW Bothell are $39,780 a year. After completing their degree, area studies graduates from UW Bothell carry an average student debtload of $17,251.
In addition to its great value ranking, UW Bothell is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region list.
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Western Washington University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value area studies programs. WWU is a large public school located in the small city of Bellingham.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WWU are $25,930 a year. On average, area studies graduates from WWU take out $20,355 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Area Studies at Western Washington University Report
Request InformationBest Area Studies Colleges by State
Explore the best area studies colleges for a specific state in the Far Western US region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| California | 879 |
| Washington | 236 |
| Oregon | 56 |
| Nevada | 4 |
| Hawaii | 57 |
| Alaska | 1 |
More Area Studies Rankings in the Far Western US Region
Other Related Area Studies Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Explore societal similarities and differences as seen through cultural, biological, archaeological and linguistic lenses when you earn one of your degrees in anthropology from Southern New Hampshire University.
Majors Related to Area Studies
Area Studies is one of 2 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Ethnic Studies | 9,231 |
| Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies (Other) | 46 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 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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