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Most Popular Area Studies Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Area Studies Schools in California

64 Colleges
$29,544 Avg Salary
$17,829 Avg Student Debt

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 Most Popular Area Studies Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 64 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Area Studies program at each school on the list.

Check out the area studies programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in California.

#1

Coastline Community College

Fountain Valley, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Coastline Community College the most popular school in California for area studies students. Coastline Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Fountain Valley.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great place for area studies students. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that area studies majors at UC Berkeley take out is $17,000.

Full Area Studies at University of California - Berkeley Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Area Studies Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.

On average, area studies graduates from UCLA take out $18,252 in student loans while working on their degree.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - Fullerton is a great place for area studies students. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, area studies majors at Cal State Fullerton accumulate an average of around $19,429 in student debt.

Read full report on Area Studies at California State University - Fullerton

Out of the 64 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, area studies majors at CSULB accumulate an average of around $13,367 in student debt.

Full Area Studies at California State University - Long Beach Report

#6

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Area Studies Schools in California list. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

Read full report on Area Studies at Stanford University

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for area studies students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

On average, area studies graduates from UCSB take out $22,697 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Area Studies at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

University of Southern California did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for area studies students. It came in at #8 on the list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

While working on their degree, area studies majors at USC accumulate an average of around $13,389 in student debt.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of Southern California

University of California - Irvine landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular area studies programs. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of California - Irvine

University of California - Davis landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular area studies programs. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of California - Davis

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Area Studies Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
11 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
12 Citrus College Glendora, CA

Best Area Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular Area Studies Schools 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 26 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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