2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k

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 in Maryland 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 Maryland, there were 151 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,500 and $22,237 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 3 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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Area Studies Schools in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for maryland area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in Maryland

#1

University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, Maryland

#1 in overall quality

$12,128 Average Net Price

$48,842 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Maryland - College Park. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k. University of Maryland - College Park is a large public school situated in College Park, Maryland. It awarded 50 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UMCP not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in Maryland” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Maryland - College Park is $12,128 for Maryland Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%.

Full University of Maryland - College Park Area Studies Report

#2

Towson University

Towson, Maryland

#3 in overall quality

$12,632 Average Net Price

$43,925 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Towson University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k list. Towson University is located in Towson, Maryland and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 12 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

Towson did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in Maryland” list. It costs about $12,632 for maryland area studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Towson University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read full report on Area Studies at Towson

#3

University of Maryland - Baltimore County

Baltimore, Maryland

#4 in overall quality

$12,605 Average Net Price

$46,475 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland - Baltimore County. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Maryland - Baltimore County is a public institution located in Baltimore, Maryland. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 19 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UMBC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in Maryland” list. The yearly cost to attend UMBC is $12,605 for Maryland Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Maryland - Baltimore County Area Studies Report

• Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value 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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