2023 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools
Finding the Best Liberal Arts General Studies School for You
In 2020-2021, 556,813 degrees and certificates were awarded to liberal arts general studies students, making the major the most popular in the country.
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, Course Advisor has created the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 1,148 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in the United States
Check out the liberal arts programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools in Liberal Arts General Studies
Our analysis found American Public University System to be the best school for liberal arts general studies students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. American Military University is a very large private for-profit school located in the town of Charles Town.
After completing their degree, liberal arts graduates from American Military University carry an average student debtload of $5,688.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a great place for liberal arts general studies students. MIT is a large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
After completing their degree, liberal arts graduates from MIT carry an average student debtload of $12,000. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $663.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Excelsior College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools list. Located in the city of Albany, Excelsior College is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
The average amount in student loans that liberal arts majors at Excelsior College take out is $10,134.
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The excellent programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best liberal arts general studies schools in the United States. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
While working on their degree, liberal arts majors at Northwestern accumulate an average of around $17,905 in student debt.
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The excellent programs at Bentley University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best liberal arts general studies schools in the United States. Located in the small city of Waltham, Bentley is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
While working on their degree, liberal arts majors at Bentley accumulate an average of around $26,000 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #6, North Carolina State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for liberal arts general studies students. Located in the city of Raleigh, NC State is a public college with a very large student population.
After completing their degree, liberal arts graduates from NC State carry an average student debtload of $26,750.
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Columbia Southern University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools list. Columbia Southern University is a large private for-profit school located in the fringe town of Orange Beach.
On average, liberal arts graduates from Columbia Southern University take out $15,714 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #8, Brandman University did quite well on this year’s best schools for liberal arts general studies students. Located in the city of Irvine, Brandman is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
The average amount in student loans that liberal arts majors at Brandman take out is $21,000.
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National University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best liberal arts general studies programs. National University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of La Jolla.
Liberal Arts majors at National University take out an average of $19,094 in student loans while working on their egree.
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University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Flex ranked #10 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools list. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, UWM Flexible Option is a public school with a fairly small student population.
On average, liberal arts graduates from UWM Flexible Option take out $11,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Georgetown University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools list. Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington.
Liberal Arts majors at Georgetown take out an average of $23,250 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Northwest Iowa Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for liberal arts general studies students. It came in at #12 on the list. Northwest Iowa Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Sheldon.
Liberal Arts majors at Northwest Iowa Community College take out an average of $11,204 in student loans while working on their egree.
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The University of Texas at Austin ranked #13 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools list. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a very large student population.
Liberal Arts majors at UT Austin take out an average of $21,375 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $377.
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Columbia College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for liberal arts general studies students. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the city of Columbia, Columbia College Missouri is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
Liberal Arts majors at Columbia College Missouri take out an average of $23,451 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Anoka-Ramsey Community College ranked #15 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools list. Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Coon Rapids.
The average amount in student loans that liberal arts majors at Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus take out is $13,000.
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University of Maryland Global Campus landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best liberal arts general studies programs. UMGC is a very large public school located in the suburb of Adelphi.
On average, liberal arts graduates from UMGC take out $15,681 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Mountwest Community and Technical College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools list. MCTC is a small public school located in the midsize suburb of Huntington.
Liberal Arts majors at MCTC take out an average of $13,329 in student loans while working on their egree.
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With a ranking of #18, University of Notre Dame did quite well on this year’s best schools for liberal arts general studies students. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Liberal Arts majors at Notre Dame take out an average of $22,824 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Johns Hopkins University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best liberal arts general studies programs. Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Baltimore.
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St Cloud Technical and Community College landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best liberal arts general studies programs. Located in the small city of Saint Cloud, St Cloud Technical and Community College is a public college with a small student population.
While working on their degree, liberal arts majors at St Cloud Technical and Community College accumulate an average of around $14,250 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #21, Drexel University did quite well on this year’s best schools for liberal arts general studies students. Drexel is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
Liberal Arts majors at Drexel take out an average of $29,666 in student loans while working on their egree.
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University of Missouri - Columbia ranked #22 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools list. Located in the city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public college with a very large student population.
On average, liberal arts graduates from Mizzou take out $23,750 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $278, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Northland Community and Technical College came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools ranking. Located in the remote town of Thief River Falls, Northland Community and Technical College is a public school with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that liberal arts majors at Northland Community and Technical College take out is $13,200.
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Johnson County Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for liberal arts general studies students. It came in at #24 on the list. JCCC is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Overland Park.
While working on their degree, liberal arts majors at JCCC accumulate an average of around $10,000 in student debt.
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Central Texas College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for liberal arts general studies students. It came in at #25 on the list. Located in the suburb of Killeen, Central Texas College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
While working on their degree, liberal arts majors at Central Texas College accumulate an average of around $7,126 in student debt.
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Request InformationRest of the Top 50 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools
Remaining Award Winners
This section represents the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 1148 different United States liberal arts general studies schools we analyzed.
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools award.
Liberal Arts General Studies by Region
View the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools for a specific region near you.
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| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Liberal Arts General Studies Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to Liberal Arts
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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