2022 Most Popular Master's Degree Colleges for Area Studies in Illinois

A master's degree in area studies is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #107 out of 326 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many colleges that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2022 ranking, College Factual looked at 6 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the most popular for area studies students pursuing a master's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 46 master's degrees in area studies during the 2019-2020 academic year.

What's on this page: * Other Rankings

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Area Studies School for Your Master's Degree

Your choice of school for getting your master's degree in area studies matters. As an aid in helping you pick the right school for you, we created our Most Popular Master's Degree Colleges for Area Studies in Illinois ranking.

While being high in popularity does not always mean a school has a quality area studies program, it is a sign that a large number of students choose the school. Sometimes this is because the school offers a great educational experience, it is a good value, or it is highly focused on the program.

One Size Does Not Fit All

This is not our only ranking, nor the only degree level we have ranked. In addition to this ranking, you may want to take at the rankings for different degree levels as called out above. You can also narrow your search by location by filtering for a certain area of the country. On top of that, you can visit our other rankings for area studies.

Most Popular Schools for Master’s Students to Study Area Studies in Illinois

The following list ranks the most popular colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in area studies.

Most Well Attended Schools for Area Studies Students Working on Their Master's

1

University of Chicago
Chicago, IL

25 Annual Master's Degrees

#1 Best Quality In IL

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

University of Chicago is one of the most popular schools in the country for getting a master's degree in area studies. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for master's degrees in area studies in Illinois.

There were about 25 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year.

Students who graduate with their master's from the area studies program report average early career wages of $30,200.

More information about a master’s in area studies from University of Chicago

2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL

14 Annual Master's Degrees

#2 Best Quality In IL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the most popular schools in the country for getting a master's degree in area studies. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #2 in quality for master's degrees in area studies in Illinois.

There were approximately 14 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a master’s in area studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3

University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL

6 Annual Master's Degrees

#3 Best Quality In IL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

University of Illinois at Chicago is one of the most popular schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in area studies. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #3 in quality for master's degrees in area studies in Illinois.

There were roughly 6 area studies students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year.

More information about a master’s in area studies from University of Illinois at Chicago

4

Northeastern Illinois University
Chicago, IL

1 Annual Master's Degrees

#4 Best Quality In IL

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in area studies needs to check out Northeastern Illinois University. Located in the large city of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #4 in quality for master's degrees in area studies in Illinois.

There were about 1 area studies students who graduated with this degree at Northeastern Illinois University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a master’s in area studies from Northeastern Illinois University

5

Northwestern University
Evanston, IL

Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. More information about a master’s in area studies from Northwestern University

5

DePaul University
Chicago, IL

DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. More information about a master’s in area studies from DePaul University

Best Area Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Michigan	203	24
Ohio	195	21
Indiana	181	25
Wisconsin	166	13

View All Rankings >

Area Studies Related Rankings by Major

One of 1 majors within the Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies area of study, Area Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Area Studies Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Near & Middle Eastern Studies	23
Latin American Studies	8
European Studies	6
East Asian Studies	3
African Studies	2
Russian Studies	2
German Studies	2

Most Popular Majors Related to Area Studies

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Ethnic Studies	20

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Karl Udo Gerth. More about our data sources and methodologies.