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Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Maryland

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2023 Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Maryland

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

17 Colleges
$7,179 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$24,682 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree School for You

Liberal Arts General Studies is the most popular major in Maryland with 9,515 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Maryland ranking. Our analysis looked at 17 schools in Maryland to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for liberal arts students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Maryland

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools

Our analysis found Baltimore City Community College to be the best value school for liberal arts general studies students who want to pursue a associate degree in Maryland. Baltimore City Community College is a small public school located in the city of Baltimore.

Baltimore City Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $3,314 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, liberal arts majors at Baltimore City Community College accumulate an average of around $10,805 in student debt.

Baltimore City Community College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Maryland list.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at Baltimore City Community College Report

#2

Chesapeake College

Wye Mills, MD

The excellent associate degree programs at Chesapeake College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value liberal arts general studies schools in Maryland. Located in the rural area of Wye Mills, Chesapeake College is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Chesapeake College are $5,552 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Chesapeake College is ranked #4 for overall quality for liberal arts in Maryland.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Chesapeake College

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland Global Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Maryland list. UMGC is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Adelphi.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UMGC are $7,704 per year. On average, liberal arts graduates from UMGC take out $13,959 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at University of Maryland Global Campus Report

Out of the 17 schools in Maryland that were part of this year’s ranking, Prince George’s Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. PGCC is a large public school located in the large suburb of Largo.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at PGCC are $6,026 a year. On average, liberal arts graduates from PGCC take out $15,118 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, PGCC is ranked #3 for overall quality for liberal arts in Maryland.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at Prince George’s Community College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Harford Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Maryland list. Located in the rural area of Bel Air, Harford Community College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Harford Community College are $6,065 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, liberal arts graduates from Harford Community College carry an average student debtload of $10,855.

Read More…

With a ranking of #6, Community College of Baltimore County did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts general studies students working on their associate degree. CCBC is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Baltimore.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CCBC are $6,918 a year. Liberal Arts majors at CCBC take out an average of $16,761 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

CCBC also made our Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Maryland list, coming in at #5.

Read More…

College of Southern Maryland landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree liberal arts general studies programs. CSM is a medium-sized public school located in the rural area of La Plata.

CSM undergraduate students pay an average of $7,050 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that liberal arts majors at CSM take out while working on their Associate Degree is $15,060.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at College of Southern Maryland Report

#8

Carroll Community College

Westminster, MD

With a ranking of #8, Carroll Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts general studies students working on their associate degree. Located in the rural area of Westminster, Carroll Community College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Carroll Community College are $6,798 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, liberal arts majors at Carroll Community College accumulate an average of around $11,696 in student debt.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at Carroll Community College Report

Hagerstown Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Maryland list. HCC is a small public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Hagerstown.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at HCC are $6,390 per year. The average amount in student loans that liberal arts majors at HCC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $14,355.

Read More…

#10

Howard Community College

Columbia, MD

Howard Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree liberal arts general studies programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, HCC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

HCC undergraduate students pay an average of $7,380 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Liberal Arts majors at HCC take out an average of $14,635 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 3,589
New York 19,150
New Jersey 9,619
District of Columbia 145
Delaware 649

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 17 schools only.

  • 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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