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2025 Best Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

7 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
401 Bachelor's Degrees
$33,281 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in area studies, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #85 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual looked at 7 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 401 bachelor's degrees in area studies to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Area Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of area studies for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for area studies students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Area Studies Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Area Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Area Studies in the Great Lakes Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in area studies.

Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Area Studies

1

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in area studies needs to take a look at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduation, area studies bachelor's recipients typically earn about $28,261 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in area studies from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

2

University of Notre Dame is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in area studies. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame.

Bachelor's recipients from the area studies major at University of Notre Dame make $2,023 above the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in area studies from University of Notre Dame

3

It's hard to beat Miami University - Oxford if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in area studies. Located in the fringe town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a large student population.

Area Studies bachelor's degree recipients from Miami University - Oxford get an earnings boost of around $17,356 above the typical income of area studies majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in area studies from Miami University - Oxford

4
35 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in area studies has to take a look at University of Wisconsin - Madison. UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a bachelor’s in area studies from University of Wisconsin - Madison

5

UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign.

Soon after graduating, area studies bachelor's recipients typically make an average of $24,332 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in area studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

6
Oberlin crest
Oberlin College
Oberlin, OH

Oberlin is a small private not-for-profit college located in the fringe town of Oberlin.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the area studies program earn around $20,905 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in area studies from Oberlin College

7
14 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in area studies from University of Illinois at Chicago

Best Area Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best area studies colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 103
Ohio 252 146
Illinois 241 86
Indiana 235 62
Wisconsin 213 51

View All Rankings >

One of 2 majors within the Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies area of study, Area Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Area Studies Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
American U.S. Studies 85
East Asian Studies 67
Asian Studies 61
Latin American Studies 28
Area Studies, Other 21
Japanese Studies 19
South Asian Studies 17
Latin American & Caribbean Studies 17
African Studies 14
French Studies 13

Related Major Annual Graduates
Ethnic Studies 559
Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies (Other) 33

Notes and References

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