2025 Best Area Studies Schools in the Southwest Region
3Colleges in the Southwest Region
836Area Studies Degrees Awarded
$36,713Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in area studies, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #115 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for area studies students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 836 degrees in area studies annually.
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.
Your choice of area studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Area Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Area Studies Schools in the Southwest Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
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.
Best Schools for Area Studies in the Southwest Region
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the area studies degrees they offer, see the list below.
The University of Texas at Austin is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in area studies. UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Austin. A Best Colleges rank of #46 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.
There were about 91 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the area studies program earn around $30,198 in their early career salary.
It's difficult to beat University of Arizona if you wish to pursue a degree in area studies. University of Arizona is a very large public university located in the city of Tucson. This university ranks 3rd out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.
There were approximately 81 area studies students who graduated with this degree at University of Arizona in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, area studies degree recipients typically earn about $31,480 in their early careers.
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.
University of New Mexico - Main Campus is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in area studies. Located in the large city of Albuquerque, UNM is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 24 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Mexico.
There were approximately 21 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UNM in the most recent data year.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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.
Your choice of area studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Area Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
