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Best Schools for Area Studies in 2026

66 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Area Studies, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Area Studies graduate earns $35,678/yr across 66 schools.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$35,678/yr

Avg DW Score

38/100

AI Risk

Very High

56% task exposure

All Area Studies Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

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

Methodology

Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Area Studies?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score, Nevada State University ranks #1 for Area Studies with a score of 64/100 and graduate earnings of $54,607/yr.

How much do Area Studies graduates earn?

Across 66 schools, Area Studies graduates earn an average of $35,678/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $55,618/yr.

Is Area Studies a good major for AI resistance?

Area Studies has an average AI task exposure of 56%, rated "Very High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.

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.