2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 6,820 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 106th most popular in the United States. 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 California, there were 1,008 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,743 and $17,480 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 11 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great area studies programs and 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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 Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California

#1 in overall quality

$55,011 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Stanford, California. It awarded 2 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford are $55,011.

Full Stanford Area Studies Report

#2

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California

#2 in overall quality

$29,347 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also took the #2 spot in our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UC Berkeley Area Studies Report

#3

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$48,715 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. USC is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 doctorate’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

USC also made our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Southern California Area Studies Report

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Doctor’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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