2023 Most Popular Area Studies Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Area Studies Master's Degree 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. 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.
The Most Popular Area Studies Master's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 123 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Area Studies program at each school on the list.
2023 Most Popular Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the most popular for area studies majors pursuing a master's degree.
Top 15% Most Popular Area Studies Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary the most popular school in the United States for area studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Fort-Worth, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Of the 482 students majoring in area studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 77% are male and 23% are female.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Georgetown University is a great place for area studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 106 students majoring in area studies at Georgetown, 42% are male and 58% are female.
Full Area Studies at Georgetown University Report
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend New York University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
About 66% of the students majoring in area studies at the school are women while 34% are male.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Harvard University is a great place for area studies students working on their master’s degree. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.
About 53% of the students majoring in area studies at the school are women while 47% are male.
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The in-demand master’s degree programs at Columbia University in the City of New York helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular area studies schools in the United States. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 50 students majoring in area studies at Columbia, 58% are male and 42% are female.
Read full report on Area Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York
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With a ranking of #6, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for area studies students working on their master’s degree. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Austin.
Of the 34 students majoring in area studies at UT Austin, 47% are male and 53% are female.
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University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Of the 32 students majoring in area studies at UW Seattle, 44% are male and 56% are female.
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With a ranking of #8, University of Chicago did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for area studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
About 53% of the students majoring in area studies at the school are women while 47% are male.
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Stanford University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
About 71% of the students majoring in area studies at the school are women while 29% are male.
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With a ranking of #10, Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for area studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public college with a very large student population.
Of the 26 students majoring in area studies at IU Bloomington, 50% are male and 50% are female.
Full Area Studies at Indiana University - Bloomington Report
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Yale University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for area studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Yale is a large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.
About 67% of the students majoring in area studies at the school are women while 33% are male.
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Ohio University - Athens Campus landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree area studies programs. OHIO Athens is a very large public school located in the town of Athens.
Women make up 65% of the area studies majors at the school.
Read full report on Area Studies at Ohio University - Athens Campus
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Brown University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree area studies programs. Located in the city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Of the 20 students majoring in area studies at Brown, 35% are male and 65% are female.
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With a ranking of #14, University of Arizona did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for area studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public school with a very large student population.
About 39% of the students majoring in area studies at the school are women while 61% are male.
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University of Southern California did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for area studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
About 59% of the students majoring in area studies at the school are women while 41% are male.
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University of San Francisco came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Of the 17 students majoring in area studies at USFCA, 24% are male and 76% are female.
Read full report on Area Studies at University of San Francisco
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California State University - Los Angeles came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public school with a very large student population.
Women make up 63% of the area studies majors at the school.
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University of Hawaii at Manoa ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools list. UH Manoa is a fairly large public school located in the city of Honolulu.
Of the 15 students majoring in area studies at UH Manoa, 53% are male and 47% are female.
Read full report on Area Studies at University of Hawaii at Manoa
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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 Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Champaign, IL |
| 19 | Florida International University | Miami, FL |
| 21 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 21 | University of New Mexico - Main Campus | Albuquerque, NM |
| 21 | Duke University | Durham, NC |
| 24 | University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 24 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI |
Area Studies by Region
View the Most Popular Area Studies Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
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
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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