Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Area Studies Schools in Virginia

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Virginia

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

4 Colleges
$19,542 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$28,514 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Area Studies School for You

Area Studies is the #104 most popular major in Virginia with 177 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

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 Virginia ranking. Our analysis looked at 4 schools in Virginia 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.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Virginia

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for area studies majors pursuing a .

Best Virginia Schools for Affordable Quality in Area Studies

#1

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA
$23,812 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named William & Mary the best value school in Virginia for area studies students. William & Mary is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Williamsburg.

William & Mary undergraduate students pay an average of $23,812 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Area Studies majors at William & Mary take out an average of $13,750 in student loans while working on their egree.

William & Mary not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Area Studies Schools in Virginia list.

Full Area Studies at William & Mary Report

$15,028 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Commonwealth University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Virginia list. VCU is a fairly large public school located in the city of Richmond.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at VCU are $15,028 per year. The average amount in student loans that area studies majors at VCU take out is $24,250.

Full Area Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University Report

$19,785 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of Virginia - Main Campus helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best area studies schools in Virginia. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Virginia are $19,785 per year. After completing their degree, area studies graduates from University of Virginia carry an average student debtload of $24,968.

University of Virginia did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Area Studies Schools in Virginia list.

Full Area Studies at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report

#4

University of Richmond

University of Richmond, VA
$58,570 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Richmond. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Virginia list. URichmond is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of University of Richmond.

URichmond undergraduate students pay an average of $58,570 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Area Studies majors at URichmond take out an average of $22,465 in student loans while working on their egree.

In addition to its great value ranking, URichmond is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Area Studies Schools in Virginia list.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of Richmond

Best Value Area Studies Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 100
North Carolina 332
Florida 110
Tennessee 43
Kentucky 49
South Carolina 84
Louisiana 26
Arkansas 14
Alabama 20
Mississippi 12
West Virginia 2

One of 2 majors within the area of study, area studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Ethnic Studies 9,231
Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies (Other) 46

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 4 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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.