truewise Honest US education data

Liberal Arts and General Studies

Liberal Arts & Humanities · federal classification: Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities

Liberal Arts and General Studies graduates with a bachelor's typically earned about $51,363, measured a few years after finishing (median across US programs, College Scorecard).
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Median earnings by degree level

Earnings range across schools, by degree levelEach row is a degree level: the bar is the middle half of schools' program medians (25th to 75th percentile) and the dot is the overall median. Certificate median $43,703, $39,109 to $49,260; Associate's median $42,710, $39,303 to $46,318; Bachelor's median $51,363, $45,275 to $58,078; Grad cert median $70,335, $59,455 to $102,843; Master's median $65,851, $58,705 to $73,259; Non-credential median $53,722, $46,497 to $70,407.$39k$71k$103kCertificate$43,703Associate's$42,710Bachelor's$51,363Grad cert$70,335Master's$65,851Non-credential$53,722
Earnings range across schools, by degree levelEach row is a degree level: the bar is the middle half of schools' program medians (25th to 75th percentile) and the dot is the overall median. Certificate median $43,703, $39,109 to $49,260; Associate's median $42,710, $39,303 to $46,318; Bachelor's median $51,363, $45,275 to $58,078; Grad cert median $70,335, $59,455 to $102,843; Master's median $65,851, $58,705 to $73,259; Non-credential median $53,722, $46,497 to $70,407.$39k$71k$103kCertificate$43,703Associate's$42,710Bachelor's$51,363Grad cert$70,335Master's$65,851Non-credential$53,722
DegreeMedian earningsTypical rangeSchoolsClear the bar
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$43,703$39,109 to $49,26010488%
Associate's Degree$42,710$39,303 to $46,31889891%
Bachelor's Degree$51,363$45,275 to $58,07845596%
Graduate/Professional Certificate$70,335$59,455 to $102,8435100%
Master's Degree$65,851$58,705 to $73,25939100%
Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification)$53,722$46,497 to $70,4072592%

"Clear the bar" is the share of programs whose graduates out-earn a typical high-school graduate (the federal earnings-premium test). Typical range is the 25th to 75th percentile of program medians.

Job outlook

Projected employment growth +2% (2025 to 2035), about 12,500 openings a year across the occupations this field commonly leads to.

OccupationMedian payGrowthOpenings/yr
Postsecondary Teachers, All Other$77,640+2%12,500

Occupation pay and outlook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wages, Employment Projections). A field maps to several occupations, and the same occupations serve many majors, so these are the jobs this major commonly leads to, not positions reserved for its graduates; the openings should not be added up across majors.

Where this is studied

The 8 colleges where the most students complete a liberal arts and general studies program, of 2,036 that report one. Ordered by number of completions only: this is where people study it, not a judgement about where to.

Earnings source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (release 2026-06-10), median earnings of graduates measured up to four years after completing. Figures describe past graduates and are never a promise. Method: methodology. Report an error.