2024 Best Colleges for General Studies
There are about 911,096 students enrolled in General Studies in the USA.
Menu: summary
popularity
Very Popular
Compared to national avg.
Diplomas received last year
133,979
Vs. National Avg.
747%
popularity Rank
#12
cost
Very Affordable
Compared to national avg.
Median degree cost
$18K
Vs. National Avg.
-25%
cost Rank
#348
salary
Low Paying
Compared to national avg.
Average Salary Two Years Out of School
$35K
Vs. National Avg.
-12%
salary Rank
#364
professors
Not Very Good
Compared to national avg.
Professor Rating
C+
Vs. National Avg.
-11%
professors Rank
#372
students
Not Very Diverse
Compared to national avg.
Diversity Rating
C+
Vs. National Avg.
-4%
students Rank
#336
SUMMARY
Choosing to study General Studies is not only a valuable choice, but typically a critical first step for undergrads intending to enter a career as a brand manager, a general manager, or a nonprofit program manager. Interestingly, general studies is somewhat popular coming in at the 36th most popular degree. In the last year, there were 14,691 general studies degrees conferred. In-state tuition for general studies at private institutions is, on average, 3.4 times more pricey than their public fellows.
There are 413 universities which offer general studies. 413 institutions is on par with other majors offered in the United States. If you're looking to immerse yourself with other general studies majors, look at universities in Texas which have more undergrads admitted to general studies than any other state. less precisely, the top region to get a degree in general studies is in the Southeast region with Western Kentucky University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and University of Mississippi best representing the region. Interestingly, our pick of the best conference to major in general studies is the Conference USA with Western Kentucky University, University of North Texas, and Marshall University representing the conference. That being said, our choice for the best school for general studies is Cornell University. You may also want to check out our list of the best colleges.
The best school does not have to be the best school for every student. There can be tons more facets to think about when deciding on institution. Things like campus amenities, transportation services, and food would change your choice on which university to attend. Here at Authority, we've weighed the pros and cons for you. If, for example, you are intrigued by which general studies university has the best campus, the answer is University of Connecticut. If you are very interested in which college is home to the finest campus, we have a whole page dedicated to that. We have carefully pored through government databases, professor reviews, student reviews, and more so we can compare each major in an unbiased and informative way. You can explore our comprehensive list for the universities with the best student life here and from that list, our pick of the university with the best student life for general studies is Cornell University. Are you curious why? Keep reading to learn more about Authority's top selections. Many of our conclusions will probably surprise you.
If expense is a significant deciding factor in your decisions, you might consider avoiding Cornell University. Cornell University is the most expensive university for general studies, at least regarding out of state attendance. We do have a page for the most expensive colleges that could put the price tag of Cornell University into perspective. Additionally, you may be interested to know that general studies is the 281st most expensive program in the nation, with an average associated cost of $25,500. On a broader scale, the most costly state for general studies in the nation is Oregon with costs at the main university, University of Portland, of $47,478. Even more broadly, the most costly region of the country for general studies is the Mid East region which is best demonstrated with Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus with a cost of $43,654, Cornell University with a cost of $56,550, and Villanova University with a cost of $54,550.
Our cheapest region for general studies is the Southeast region which is represented by Louisiana State University-Alexandria with a cost of $4,984, Louisiana State University-Shreveport with a cost of $5,656, and Mississippi Valley State University with a cost of $6,726. On the bright side, the most affordable school for general studies is University of South Florida-Sarasota-Manatee. Authority's full list of the most affordable colleges can be explored here.
In-state attendees can anticipate paying about $8,700 for a degree in general studies. The price inflates by a lot to a median of $18,900 for the out-of-state public-school student. On that note, our choice for the college with the best value for general studies: Cornell University. On this page you can see our comprehensive list about the schools we see as being the best value in general. Bear in mind, this idea is based on being an out-of-state student. A discussion of value changes when in-state tuition is considered, but we do not know in which states any one student has residency.
Earnings for general studies students can cover a wide range, but two years after finishing the degree graduates will often make in the neighborhood of $43,100. While there can be a lot of variation in pay; top earners can bring in up to $81,400. Even right out of school, the lowest earning jobs within the general studies field earn $22,100, which isn't that bad. The highest earning graduates from general studies graduated from Villanova University and if you want to find the colleges with all of the highest earning graduates, we have that too.
The prevailing diversity of general studies ranks decent, coming in the 58th percentile of all majors. The university with the highest composite diversity for general studies is Cornell University and here you can find our comprehensive list of the universities with the most diversity. The financial diversity of General Studies only is within the 61st percentile compared to all other majors. Racial diversity is even less in the 53rd percentile. White undergraduates compose the largest proportion at 60% of students studying general studies. Additionally, 56% of students seeking a general studies major are women.
The median rating of general studies professors is 4.1 stars, a score which is 2% better than the average score across all majors; which is a good ranking. If you want the most popular general studies instructor in the country, take a look at Kurt Olson at Modesto Junior College. It might surprise you, but the top ranked general studies professors from student rankings come from George Mason University. As we consider data other than simply rankings we find that the university possessing the overall best professors for general studies is Cornell University. One will find an explanation of our ever evolving ranking methodology of the best overall professors here, as well as many of the finest instructors in the country.
Finally, the hardest university to get into for general studies is United States Naval Academy. While we do not necessarily see the value in it, we have an extensive list for the hardest colleges to get into. That being said, we hope you understand that looking at university with context only informed by superlatives can cause issues. We at Authority hope you explore our other pages on different schools and read a couple of our background articles on important details to consider as you continue your university search.
Top 25 Best Colleges for General Studies
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#6 2024 Best Colleges for General Studies
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY | www.columbia.edu/
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#7 2024 Best Colleges for General Studies
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC | www.unc.edu/
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#13 2024 Best Colleges for General Studies
University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA | www.ucla.edu/
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#14 2024 Best Colleges for General Studies
Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO | www.wustl.edu/
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#22 2024 Best Colleges for General Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA | www.upenn.edu/
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#23 2024 Best Colleges for General Studies
Williams College
Williamstown, MA | https://www.williams.edu/
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