2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Far Western US Region for Area Studies for a Doctorate
2
Ranked Colleges
11
Degrees Awarded
$33,700
Avg Cost*

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, veterans have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in the Far Western US Region for Area Studies for a Doctorate” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 6,966 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 115th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $33,127 and had an average of $20,927 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Far Western US region, there were 1,234 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,715 and $19,460 respectively.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Far Western US Region for Area Studies for a Doctorate” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in area studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area studies programs, but they also offer a lot of support to veterans and active service members.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the area studies program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran population. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Most Veteran Friendly in the Far Western US Region for Area Studies for a Doctorate” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Most Veteran Friendly in the Far Western US Region for Area Studies for a Doctorate
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in the Far Western US Region for Area Studies for a Doctorate”.
Top 2 Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Far Western US Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Hawaii at Manoa. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Far Western US Region for Area Studies for a Doctorate list. Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, this fairly large public school awarded 3 degrees to qualified doctorate’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
UH Manoa also took the #4 spot in our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking.According to our most recent data, University of Hawaii at Manoa supports 18,025 students, and 3 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 4 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $22,153. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Hawaii at Manoa offers credit for military training for eligible students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #2 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Far Western US Region for Area Studies for a Doctorate. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 3 degrees to qualified doctorate’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking.According to our most recent data, Stanford University supports 15,953 students, and 188 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 118 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $18,909. To help with additional expenses, 61 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 full report on veteran student life at Stanford University]](/colleges/stanford-university/student-life/veterans/)
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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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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