2022 Best Value 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. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in area studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality area studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the area studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. 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 in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k

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

Top 4 Best Value 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

$49,643 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas at Austin. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Austin, Texas, this large public school handed out 93 diplomas to qualified ’s area studies students in 2019-2020.

UT Austin did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UT Austin is $13,575 for Southwest Region 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 97%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UT Austin Area Studies Report

#2

Arizona State University - Tempe

Tempe, Arizona

#2 in overall quality

$8,921 Average Net Price

$46,397 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools 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. ASU - Tempe is a public institution located in Tempe, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 26 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at ASU - Tempe, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Arizona State University - Tempe is $8,921 for Southwest Region Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Arizona State University - Tempe Area Studies Report

#3

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

#3 in overall quality

$11,466 Average Net Price

$44,160 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Arizona. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Arizona is located in Tucson, Arizona and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 61 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

University of Arizona not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Arizona is $11,466 for southwest region area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of Arizona

#4

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Albuquerque, New Mexico

#4 in overall quality

$14,458 Average Net Price

$41,938 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k. UNM is a large school located in Albuquerque, New Mexico that handed out 32 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UNM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus is $14,458 for Southwest Region Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of New Mexico - Main Campus

• 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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