Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies
Area Studies
Colleges award this field under 37 named programs, from African Studies to Area Studies, Other.
Inside the major
Programs within this field
Colleges may offer this field under 37 more specific program names. The program you choose affects the courses you take.
- African Studies
- Focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of one or more of the peoples of the African Continent, usually with an emphasis on Africa south of the Sahara, and including the African diasporas overseas.
- American/United States Studies/Civilization
- Focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of the United States and its Pre-Columbian and colonial predecessors, and including the flow of immigrants from other societies.
- Asian Studies/Civilization
- Focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of one or more of the peoples of the Asian Continent, including the study of the Asian diasporas overseas.
- East Asian Studies
- Focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of one or more of the peoples of East Asia, defined as including China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Taiwan, Tibet, related borderlands and island groups, and including the study of the East Asian diasporas overseas.
- Russian, Central European, East European and Eurasian Studies
- Focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of the region encompassing Russia, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia, including the Balkan, Baltic, Caucasus, and Central Asian states that were republics of the former Soviet Union.
- European Studies/Civilization
- Focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of one or more of the peoples of the European Continent, including the study of European migration patterns and colonial empires.
- Latin American Studies
- Focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of one or more of the Hispanic peoples of the North and South American Continents outside Canada and the United States, including the study of the Pre-Columbian period and the flow of immigrants from other societies.
- Near and Middle Eastern Studies
- Focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of one or more of the peoples of North Africa, Southwestern Asia, Asia Minor, and the Arabian Peninsula, related borderlands and island groups, and including emigrant and immigrant groups.
- Pacific Area/Pacific Rim Studies
- Focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of one or more of the peoples of Australasia and the Pacific Ocean, related island groups and bordering coastal regions, and including pre- and post-colonial migration patterns.
- Russian Studies
- Focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of one or more of the peoples of the Russian Federation and its Soviet, Czarist, and medieval predecessors and related borderlands.
Also called Russian and East European Studies, Central and Eastern European Studies, CIS Studies
Also called Modern Middle Eastern Studies
Where it can lead
Careers this field can lead to
Explore related careers, starting with the closest connections and the occupations hiring the most people.
All work is projected to grow 3.5% between 2025 and 2035; read every hiring-change figure against it.
Working style
How and where the work happens
Related careers can feel very different from one another. Compare the specific occupations to understand the work each one involves.
0%of related openings involve substantial in-person or active work
Few of the careers connected to this field are measured as substantially in-person or active work. Compare the specific occupations to see how much time each one involves with people, equipment, and movement.
College options
Where to study it
Ordered by how many degrees each college awards in this field. Sort by any numbered column.
| College | Degrees a year | Earnings, first year out | Admit rate | Average annual cost after aid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA | 153 | $36,522 | 43% | $8,000 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC | 146 | $28,175 | 19% | $9,000 |
| Wesleyan University CT | 81 | — | 17% | $6,000 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York NY | 64 | — | 4% | $6,000 |
| University of California-Berkeley CA | 57 | $40,373 | 12% | $10,000 |
| Fordham University NY | 57 | $38,846 | 56% | $37,000 |
| The University of Texas at Austin TX | 56 | $29,469 | 29% | $17,000 |
| Brown University RI | 53 | $37,471 | 5% | $6,000 |
| California State University-Long Beach CA | 51 | $30,213 | 47% | $10,000 |
| Brandeis University MA | 51 | $38,853 | 35% | $21,000 |
| Brigham Young University UT | 51 | $30,421 | 69% | $13,000 |
| University of Maryland Global Campus MD | 49 | — | · | — |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI | 47 | $19,348 | 18% | $5,000 |
| University of Missouri-Columbia MO | 47 | $42,527 | 77% | $14,000 |
| University of Arizona AZ | 42 | $30,593 | 86% | $16,000 |
| University of California-Los Angeles CA | 41 | $22,438 | 9% | $10,000 |
| Yale University CT | 39 | $27,225 | 5% | $18,000 |
| Bowdoin College ME | 39 | $46,244 | 8% | — |
| Dartmouth College NH | 39 | $47,302 | 6% | $3,000 |
| William & Mary VA | 38 | $34,517 | 33% | $6,000 |
| Emory University GA | 37 | $27,258 | 11% | $11,000 |
| Cornell University NY | 37 | $30,086 | 8% | $7,000 |
| Oberlin College OH | 35 | $19,436 | 33% | $29,000 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison WI | 35 | $32,123 | 43% | $8,000 |
| Duke University NC | 34 | $43,489 | 7% | $6,000 |
| Miami University-Oxford OH | 34 | $40,022 | 82% | $24,000 |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia SC | 34 | — | 61% | $20,000 |
| University of Utah UT | 33 | — | 87% | $14,000 |
| Utah State University UT | 32 | $27,801 | 94% | $14,000 |
| George Washington University DC | 30 | — | 44% | $22,000 |
| Florida International University FL | 30 | — | 59% | $11,000 |
| University of Notre Dame IN | 29 | — | 12% | $11,000 |
| California State University-Fullerton CA | 27 | $26,666 | 87% | $6,000 |
| University of California-Santa Barbara CA | 27 | $19,866 | 28% | $13,000 |
| Washington University in St Louis MO | 27 | — | 12% | $6,000 |
| Virginia Commonwealth University VA | 27 | $31,111 | 93% | $21,000 |
| American University DC | 26 | — | 47% | $26,000 |
| Tufts University MA | 26 | $33,157 | 10% | $15,000 |
| University of California-Davis CA | 25 | — | 42% | $12,000 |
| Georgetown University DC | 25 | — | 13% | $18,000 |