When it comes to popularity, a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies sits in the middle of the road, ranking #181 out of 343 majors in the country. So, it might take a little more work to find colleges and universities that offer the degree program.
College Factual looked at 2 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Interdisciplinary Studies Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 106 master's degrees in interdisciplinary studies during the 2022-2023 academic year.
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How much a school focuses on interdisciplinary studies students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - How many other interdisciplinary studies students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How easy is it for interdisciplinary studies to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized interdisciplinary studies related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for interdisciplinary studies students working on their master's degree.
More Ways to Rank Interdisciplinary Studies Schools
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 Interdisciplinary Studies Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list to help you make the college decision.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Interdisciplinary Studies in the Southwest Region
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Top Southwest Region Schools for a Master's in Interdisciplinary Studies
Arizona State University - Tempe is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies. ASU - Tempe is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Tempe.
Soon after graduating, interdisciplinary studies master's recipients generally make about $48,932 in the first five years of their career.
Any student who is interested in a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies needs to look into Arizona State University - Skysong. Located in the city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public university with a fairly large student population.
After graduation, interdisciplinary studies master's recipients usually make about $48,932 at the beginning of their careers.
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).
