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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region

4 Ranked Colleges
193 Degrees Awarded
$28,433 Avg Salary
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this 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.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k” 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.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the area studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. 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 for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region

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 $48-$75k list. The University of Texas at Austin is a public institution located in Austin, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 63 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $48-$75k list, UT Austin has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $15,757 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend The University of Texas at Austin.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Read more about Area Studies at UT Austin

#2

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Arizona. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Arizona is a public institution located in Tucson, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 42 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Arizona, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $15,399 for southwest region bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of Arizona.

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

Full University of Arizona Area Studies Report

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #3 spot on the list. Tempe, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

ASU - Tempe also took the #2 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend ASU - Tempe is $14,033 for southwest region bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $48-$75k.

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

Read more about Area Studies at ASU - Tempe

#4

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Albuquerque, New Mexico

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of New Mexico - Main Campus is a large school located in Albuquerque, New Mexico that handed out 17 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 $48-$75k list, UNM has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $16,557 for southwest region bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UNM.

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

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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.

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