General Studies
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OverviewSalary and DebtCareersSchoolsRelated ProgramsGenderRace/Origin
Overview
An undifferentiated program that includes instruction in the general arts, general science, or unstructured studies.
Highlights
School with the highest reported median starting salary ($65K) with a Associate's Degree: Charter Oak State College
Explore Pathways
Careers for program graduates
General studies majors work in these careers, which are sized by percentage of majors in the career (at least 1%) and colored by the predominant level of education.
Elementary and Middle School S...Specialized ManagersLawyers, and judges, magistrat...Education and childcare admini...First-Line Supervisors of Reta...Wholesale and Manufacturing Sa...Secretaries and Administrative...Accountants and AuditorsChief executives and legislato...Retail SalespersonsSecondary School TeachersCustomer Service Representativ...Postsecondary TeachersFirst-Line Supervisors of Offi...Labor Relations SpecialistsRegistered NursesFirst-Line Supervisors of Non-...Financial ManagersSpecialized Social WorkersGeneral and Operations Manager...
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Current completions
What level of degree do most graduates achieve, and do they match what your goals?
050K100K150K0-1 Year Certificate1-2 Year Certificate2-4 Year CertificateAssociate's DegreeBachelor's DegreePostbaccalaureate CertMaster's DegreePost-master's CertResearch Doctorate
SOURCES:
Completions over time
Have completions for liberal arts changed over time? Increasing completions may mean you'll likely have an easier time finding a school that offers this degree, with the opposite being true as well.
Show percentages
Number of graduates
050,000100,000150,000200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
Research Doctorate
Post-master's Cert
Master's Degree
Postbaccalaureate Cert
Bachelor's Degree
Associate's Degree
2-4 Year Certificate
1-2 Year Certificate
0-1 Year Certificate
Salary and Debt
How are students who recently completed a degree in general studies doing?
Below is the distribution of starting salaries along with accumulated federal and private education loans across schools that offer a degree in the field liberal arts and sciences, general studies and humanities, which includes general studies.
Median starting salaries
$27K$25K$33K$47K$0$20K$40K$60K$80KMaster'sBachelor'sAssociate'sCertificate
Median cumulative loan amount
$10K$10K$24K$42K$0$20K$40K$60K$80KMaster'sBachelor'sAssociate'sCertificate
Careers
Recommended careers for those with a degree in liberal arts
Those who study Liberal Arts (which combines 3 programs) may be prepared to work as:
  1. Specialized Postsecondary Teachers
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Recommended Careers for liberal arts majors
Is this degree preparing you for a career with a salary you want? Are there lots of openings in the near future? The Department of Education suggests these careers as a starting list, and Ididio hopes that if the career you're most interested in doesn't appear here, you will head over to our Career Explorer and learn more about paths to your best career.
Career
Follow the links to learn all about any career!
Salary Spread
Salary distribution for people in this occupation
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
How much school?
Education level of people in this occupation
No college
Some College
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Doctorate/Professional
Employed
The number of people employed in this occupation
Growth Rate
The projected percentage growth in employment for this occupation in 10 years
Annual Job Openings
The projected average number of job openings per year
Where can I complete this degree
Explore schools that offer general studies degrees and certificates
You can use this table to find schools that offer this program based on location and program level offered. Each entry goes to a school page similar to this one with all our information about that school.
Understanding the columns

The school list includes a few facts about each school that give you an idea of the educational quality each school might offer:

  • Student-Faculty Ratio: A small number of students per full-time instructor suggests individual attention for each student and an up-to-date curriculum.

  • Satisfaction Rate: A high percentage of returning first-year students should correlate with satisfaction (schools call this their retention rate).

  • Repayment Rate: A high repayment rate means most alumni earn enough to make progress repaying loans within 7 years of leaving.

We also show the total enrollment for the school as measured by full-time-equivalent (FTE) students enrolled annually.

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Related Programs
Top 10 similar programs
Following are related programs, ordered by those with the highest number of completions. You can explore a full list by pressing the more details button.
  1. Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
  2. Specialized Studies in Liberal Arts and Sciences
  3. Humanities
Fewer details
Careers for liberal arts majors
liberal arts is part of a larger collection of programs: General Studies. Is there a different program that's close to liberal arts that might be a better match for your interests? You can use this table to see a little about the programs that fall under this umbrella. If you click on any of the table headers, that will sort the table by that column, or click on a row and see Ididio's profile for that program.
Graduates
Award Levels
Associate's/ Certificate
Bachelor's
Graduate
Gender
Men
Women
Race/Origin
White
Minority
International
Gender
Gender of recent graduates
Of all people with any degree in general studies earned in the last academic year, 62% were women.
Gender
Men
Women
SOURCES:
Fewer details
Completions over time
Have completions by gender changed over time, or at specific levels of education?
Award level
All levels
050K100K150KNumber of graduates200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
Women
Men
Context: Gender representation
How does the gender distribution in this major compare to all other majors?
55%45%0%20%40%60%80%100%WomenMen
Context: Percentage women
This major has a lower percentage of women than 40% other programs.
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary with this degree? The closer the bar are, the less discrepancy there is.
$62K$53K$0$50K$100K$150K$200K$250KWomenMen
Context: Salary inequity
For liberal arts graduates, men have a 18% higher median salary than women, This is near the middle of salary differentials within each program's graduates.
18%18%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Race/Origin
Race/Origin of recent graduates
Here is an overview of race/origin for all general studies graduates from this last academic year. We found a lower percentage of international graduates than in 55% of other programs.
Race/Origin
White
Black
Pacific Islander
Hispanic
Asian
American Indian
Multiracial
Not Reported
International
SOURCES:
Fewer details
Completions over time
Have completions by race/origin changed over time, or at specific levels of education?
Award level
All levels
050K100K150KNumber of graduates200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
International
Not Reported
Multiracial
American Indian
Asian
Hispanic
Pacific Islander
Black
White
Context: Percentage of Minority Graduates
Minority students comprise a lower percentage of graduates than in 41% of other programs.