Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Area Studies Master's Degree Schools in California

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Area Studies Master's Degree Schools in California

11 Colleges
$46,380 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Area Studies Master's Degree School for You

Area Studies is the #118 most popular major in California with 136 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Area Studies Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 11 schools in California to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for area studies majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 10 Best Area Studies Master's Degree Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best school for area studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

Full Area Studies at Stanford University Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Berkeley helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best area studies schools in California. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Area Studies at University of California - Berkeley Report

#3

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of San Francisco. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California list. USFCA is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of San Francisco

#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California list. SDSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Diego.

Full Area Studies at San Diego State University Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Davis helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best area studies schools in California. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Area Studies at University of California - Davis Report

University of California - San Diego landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree area studies programs. UCSD is a very large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

Full Area Studies at University of California - San Diego Report

University of California - Los Angeles came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of California - Los Angeles

California State University - Long Beach came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

Read More…

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for area studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Area Studies at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

California State University - Fullerton ranked #10 on this year’s Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Area Studies at California State University - Fullerton Report

Best Area Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Area Studies Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 33
Oregon 12
Nevada 0
Hawaii 18
Alaska 1

One of 2 majors within the area of study, area studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Area Studies

Related Major Annual Graduates
Ethnic Studies 1,081
Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies (Other) 5

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 11 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.