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Area Studies Degree

66 schools compared · Average earnings $35,678/yr
Schools Offering
66
Avg Grad Earnings
$35,678/yr
Avg DegreeWorth Score
28/100
AI Automation Risk
Very High
56% task exposure

Best Schools for Area Studies

Top 66 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

# School DW Score Earnings AI Risk ROI
1 Nevada State University
Henderson, NV		 64
59–67		 $54,607/yr Very High 20.4x
2 University of Maryland Global Campus
Adelphi, MD		 60
55–61		 $48,650/yr Very High 14.2x
3 University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA		 56
48–63		 $50,728/yr Very High 14.6x
4 Brigham Young University
Provo, UT		 55
48–60		 $37,019/yr Very High 28.7x
5 University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA		 51
45–55		 $43,668/yr Very High 11.6x
6 University of Washington-Bothell Campus
Bothell, WA		 51
45–55		 $43,668/yr Very High 11.7x
7 University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
Tacoma, WA		 51
45–55		 $43,668/yr Very High 11.5x
8 Miami University-Oxford
Oxford, OH		 50
46–52		 $50,637/yr Very High 7.7x
9 William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA		 49
44–53		 $53,779/yr Very High 6.5x
10 University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO		 49
44–52		 $44,096/yr Very High 9.6x
11 Millersville University of Pennsylvania
Millersville, PA		 46
42–47		 $39,814/yr Very High 8.3x
12 California State University-Fullerton
Fullerton, CA		 46
38–52		 $29,316/yr Very High 18.7x
13 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC		 45
37–51		 $31,955/yr Very High 15.2x
14 California State University-Long Beach
Long Beach, CA		 45
37–50		 $28,591/yr Very High 17.3x
15 Yale University
New Haven, CT		 44
38–47		 $55,618/yr Very High 2.2x
16 Utah State University
Logan, UT		 44
37–49		 $31,894/yr Very High 13.2x
17 Western Washington University
Bellingham, WA		 42
38–44		 $33,103/yr Very High 10.0x
18 Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH		 41
35–46		 $48,565/yr Very High 2.5x
19 Amherst College
Amherst, MA		 40
35–43		 $49,149/yr Very High 0.8x
20 Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA		 40
34–43		 $35,557/yr Very High 6.8x
21 University at Albany
Albany, NY		 40
36–41		 $32,808/yr Very High 6.9x
22 Cornell University
Ithaca, NY		 39
32–43		 $43,831/yr Very High 2.1x
23 American University
Washington, DC		 39
33–42		 $43,671/yr Very High 2.0x
24 California State University-Northridge
Northridge, CA		 39
35–39		 $26,793/yr Very High 8.4x
25 Colby College
Waterville, ME		 38
34–41		 $45,686/yr Very High 0.7x
26 Bowdoin College
Brunswick, ME		 38
33–41		 $45,315/yr Very High 0.7x
27 Tufts University
Medford, MA		 38
32–41		 $44,133/yr Very High 1.3x
28 Brandeis University
Waltham, MA		 38
32–41		 $43,748/yr Very High 1.4x
29 Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA		 38
32–41		 $43,231/yr Very High 1.6x
30 University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ		 38
31–43		 $31,480/yr Very High 8.6x
31 The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX		 38
31–44		 $29,746/yr Very High 10.3x
32 California State University-Chico
Chico, CA		 38
29–46		 $23,149/yr Very High 13.5x
33 Connecticut College
New London, CT		 37
32–41		 $43,358/yr Very High 1.4x
34 Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY		 37
30–41		 $41,479/yr Very High 1.8x
35 DePaul University
Chicago, IL		 37
32–39		 $40,248/yr Very High 1.9x
36 University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA		 37
31–42		 $34,280/yr Very High 5.9x
37 University of South Carolina-Columbia
Columbia, SC		 37
33–39		 $32,064/yr Very High 5.3x
38 University of Maryland-Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD		 37
31–42		 $30,545/yr Very High 8.7x
39 Fordham University
Bronx, NY		 36
30–41		 $40,811/yr Very High 2.0x
40 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR		 36
30–40		 $31,427/yr Very High 6.4x
41 University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD		 36
27–47		 $24,699/yr Very High 13.0x
42 Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT		 35
30–39		 $40,467/yr Very High 1.3x
43 Hobart William Smith Colleges
Geneva, NY		 35
30–38		 $39,939/yr Very High 0.6x
44 Brown University
Providence, RI		 35
29–38		 $39,165/yr Very High 1.4x
45 Williams College
Williamstown, MA		 35
28–41		 $38,595/yr Very High 2.4x
46 University of California-Irvine
Irvine, CA		 35
31–38		 $30,897/yr Very High 4.4x
47 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI		 34
27–41		 $28,261/yr Very High 8.1x
48 University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, HI		 33
28–38		 $26,020/yr Very High 7.6x
49 University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA		 33
25–44		 $23,819/yr Very High 10.0x
50 Florida International University
Miami, FL		 33
29–35		 $19,457/yr Very High 6.4x
51 St Olaf College
Northfield, MN		 32
26–34		 $35,569/yr Very High 0.9x
52 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL		 32
25–40		 $24,332/yr Very High 8.2x
53 University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN		 31
26–35		 $35,304/yr Very High 1.3x
54 Emory University
Atlanta, GA		 31
24–38		 $33,549/yr Very High 2.4x
55 Rutgers University-New Brunswick
New Brunswick, NJ		 31
23–39		 $21,409/yr Very High 7.5x
56 Barnard College
New York, NY		 30
25–33		 $34,142/yr Very High 0.3x
57 University of Richmond
University of Richmond, VA		 30
24–35		 $33,340/yr Very High 1.8x
58 CUNY Queens College
Queens, NY		 30
26–33		 $16,733/yr Very High 4.5x
59 Dickinson College
Carlisle, PA		 29
23–33		 $32,722/yr Very High 1.2x
60 University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA		 29
24–32		 $19,426/yr Very High 3.4x
61 University of California-Davis
Davis, CA		 28
23–30		 $21,527/yr Very High 2.5x
62 Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO		 27
22–30		 $30,716/yr Very High 0.2x
63 Smith College
Northampton, MA		 27
21–31		 $29,878/yr Very High 1.1x
64 University of Puget Sound
Tacoma, WA		 26
21–29		 $29,232/yr Very High 0.2x
65 Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, NY		 23
18–26		 $22,741/yr Very High -0.2x
66 Oberlin College
Oberlin, OH		 23
17–27		 $20,905/yr Very High 0.8x

Highest Earning Area Studies Programs

Schools where Area Studies graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School 1-Year Earnings DW Score AI Risk
Yale University $55,618/yr 44 Very High
Nevada State University $54,607/yr 64 Very High
William & Mary $53,779/yr 49 Very High
University of California-Berkeley $50,728/yr 56 Very High
Miami University-Oxford $50,637/yr 50 Very High
Amherst College $49,149/yr 40 Very High
University of Maryland Global Campus $48,650/yr 60 Very High
Dartmouth College $48,565/yr 41 Very High
Colby College $45,686/yr 38 Very High
Bowdoin College $45,315/yr 38 Very High

Best ROI for Area Studies

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Area Studies.

School ROI Multiple Earnings DW Score
Brigham Young University 28.7x $37,019/yr 55
Nevada State University 20.4x $54,607/yr 64
California State University-Fullerton 18.7x $29,316/yr 46
California State University-Long Beach 17.3x $28,591/yr 45
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 15.2x $31,955/yr 45
University of California-Berkeley 14.6x $50,728/yr 56
University of Maryland Global Campus 14.2x $48,650/yr 60
California State University-Chico 13.5x $23,149/yr 38
Utah State University 13.2x $31,894/yr 44
University of Maryland-College Park 13.0x $24,699/yr 36

Related Majors

Explore similar fields of study.

Political Science and Government Economics Biology, General English Language and Literature, General History Fine and Studio Arts Sociology Natural Resources Conservation and Research Psychology, General Mathematics Romance Languages & Literatures Communication and Media Studies

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Area Studies graduates earn?
Across 66 schools, Area Studies graduates earn an average of $35,678 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $16,733 to $55,618 depending on the school.
What is the AI automation risk for Area Studies?
Area Studies is rated "Very High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 56% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means most career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.
Which school has the best Area Studies program?
Based on our DegreeWorth Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), Nevada State University ranks #1 for Area Studies with a score of 64/100 and graduate earnings of $54,607/yr.
Is a Area Studies degree worth it?
On average, Area Studies graduates earn 6.3x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly.

About This Data

This page aggregates Area Studies programs across 66 schools using earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024–2034), and AI automation risk research from OpenAI and academic institutions.

The DegreeWorth Score (0–100) combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and return on investment. Each school's program page includes three AI scenarios (optimistic, base case, pessimistic) showing how automation could affect 10-year earnings.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.