2023 Best Value Area Studies Master's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Area Studies Master'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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Area Studies Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 11 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for area studies students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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.
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2023 Best Value Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California
Check out the area studies master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.
Top 10 Best Area Studies Master's Degree Schools
Our analysis found San Diego State University to be the best value school for area studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Diego.
SDSU graduate students pay an average of $9,570 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Area Studies at San Diego State University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSULB are $8,280 per year.
Out of the 11 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $14,160 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
UC Berkeley also took the #2 spot in our Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California rankings.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - Fullerton is a great value for area studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large 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 graduate student at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 a year.
Read full report on Area Studies at California State University - Fullerton
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Davis. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Davis are $13,608 per year.
With a ranking of #6, University of California - San Diego did quite well on this year’s best value schools for area studies students working on their master’s degree. UCSD is a very large public school located in the city of La Jolla.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCSD are $13,564 a year.
UCSD also claimed a spot on our Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Full Area Studies at University of California - San Diego Report
University of California - Los Angeles ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCLA are $13,036 per year.
UCLA not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California list.
With a ranking of #8, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on this year’s best value schools for area studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.
UCSB graduate students pay an average of $13,581 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
University of California - Riverside came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public college with a very large student population.
UCR graduate students pay an average of $13,467 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Full Area Studies at University of California - Riverside Report
University of San Francisco landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree area studies programs. USFCA is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.
USFCA graduate students pay an average of $27,250 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, USFCA also did well on our Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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 |
More Area Studies Rankings in California
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 11 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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