by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2021-2022, 6,257 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 115th most popular in the United States. In , area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $33,127 and had an average of $22,500 in loans still to pay off.
Across Texas, there were 695 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,469 and $20,750 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas” ranking, we looked at 16 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. That schools that top this list have a program in area studies in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas”.
Out of the 16 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas that were part of this year’s ranking, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary landed the #1 spot on the list. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Fort Worth, Texas. It awarded 540 ’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
Read more about Area Studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Austin College. The school came in at #2 for the Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas. Austin College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Sherman, Texas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southwestern University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas list. Southwestern University is a small school located in Georgetown, Texas that handed out 6 ’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Trinity University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas list. San Antonio, Texas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 5 students in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
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 #5 for the Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas. The University of Texas at Austin is a public institution located in Austin, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 91 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Area Studies at The University of Texas at Austin
With a ranking of #6, Rice University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas list. This medium-sized school is located in Houston, Texas, and it awarded 13 ’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
Southern Methodist University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas ranking. SMU is a fairly large school located in Dallas, Texas that handed out 2 ’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.1% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Area Studies at Southern Methodist University
Baylor University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas ranking, coming in at #8. This large school is located in Waco, Texas, and it awarded 4 ’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #9, The University of Texas at El Paso did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas list. This large school is located in El Paso, Texas, and it awarded 8 ’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Texas Christian University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas ranking, coming in at #10. Texas Christian University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Fort Worth, Texas. It awarded 0 ’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of Houston came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas ranking. Houston, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 6 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
The University of Texas at San Antonio landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas ranking. This large school is located in San Antonio, Texas, and it awarded 5 ’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #13, The University of Texas at Dallas did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas list. This large school is located in Richardson, Texas, and it awarded 3 ’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
University of North Texas did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas ranking, coming in at #14. UNT is a large school located in Denton, Texas that handed out 3 ’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Dallas came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas ranking. Located in Irving, Texas, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 1 diplomas to qualified ’s area studies students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Dallas Baptist University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Texas ranking. Dallas, Texas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 0 students in 2021-2022.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies