2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Area Studies 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 Value Area Studies Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in California to see which 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 Schools
Our analysis found San Diego State University to be the best value school for area studies students who want to pursue a degree in California. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Diego.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SDSU are $8,136 a year.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State University - Long Beach is a great value for area studies students. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year. After completing their degree, area studies graduates from CSULB carry an average student debtload of $13,367.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means San Francisco State University is a great value for area studies students. SFSU is a very large public school located in the 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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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - Fullerton is a great value for area studies students. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 a year. Area Studies majors at Cal State Fullerton take out an average of $19,429 in student loans while working on their egree.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great value for area studies students. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.
UC Berkeley undergraduate students pay an average of $14,226 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, area studies graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $17,000.
UC Berkeley also took the #3 spot in our Best Area Studies Schools in California rankings.
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California State University - Chico landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value area studies programs. 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. The average amount in student loans that area studies majors at Chico State take out is $15,500.
Full Area Studies at California State University - Chico Report
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California State University - Northridge landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value area studies programs. CSUN is a very large public school located in the large 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. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UCLA undergraduate students pay an average of $13,258 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Area Studies majors at UCLA take out an average of $18,252 in student loans while working on their egree.
UCLA also claimed a spot on our Best Area Studies Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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University of California - Davis landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value area studies programs. Located in the 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.
UC Davis also claimed a spot on our Best Area Studies Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
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California State University - Sacramento did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for area studies students. It came in at #10 on the 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.
Request InformationBest 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 |
More Area Studies Rankings in California
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.
Area Studies Related Majors for Area Studies
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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