2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Area Studies is the 106th most popular major in the country with 6,820 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,734 and had an average of $23,024 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southwest region, there were 301 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,500 and $25,548 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 193 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,896 and $23,899 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the area studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools

The area studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k”.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region

#1

The University of Texas at Austin

Austin, Texas

#1 in overall quality

$13,575 Average Net Price

$30,771 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Austin. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. UT Austin is located in Austin, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 63 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

UT Austin also took the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Texas at Austin is $13,575 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.

Full UT Austin Area Studies Report

#2

Arizona State University - Tempe

Tempe, Arizona

#2 in overall quality

$8,921 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Tempe, Arizona, this large public school awarded 11 degrees to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2019-2020.

ASU - Tempe also made our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for ASU - Tempe is $8,921 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Full ASU - Tempe Area Studies Report

#3

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

#3 in overall quality

$11,466 Average Net Price

$31,495 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Arizona is a large public school situated in Tucson, Arizona. It awarded 42 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $30-$48k list, University of Arizona has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Arizona is $11,466 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Full University of Arizona Area Studies Report

#4

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Albuquerque, New Mexico

#4 in overall quality

$14,458 Average Net Price

$23,803 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of New Mexico - Main Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. Albuquerque, New Mexico is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.

UNM also took the #4 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $14,458 for southwest region bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UNM.

Read more about Area Studies at UNM

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k)

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Karl Udo Gerth.

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