2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in California (With Aid)

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 3 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 3 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in California (With Aid)

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California

#1 in overall quality

$55,011 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid list. This fairly large school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree area studies students with aid list, Stanford has also earned the #1 rank 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 University are $55,011.

Read full report on Area Studies at Stanford University

#2

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California

#2 in overall quality

$29,347 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Getting Aid. University of California - Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #2 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 University of California - Berkeley are $29,347.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of California - Berkeley

#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 Getting Aid list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 3 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s area studies students in 2019-2020.

USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at USC are $48,715, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Area Studies at University of Southern California

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in the Far Western US Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (With Aid)

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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