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Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities

Ranked by graduate earnings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard — updated 2026.

Programs tracked: 424
Avg grad salary: $42,763
Total graduates: 44,770

Top Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities — Ranked by Graduate Earnings

Showing schools with reported earnings data. Earnings reflect median graduate salary 4 years after graduation (or 1 year where 4-year data is unavailable).

#SchoolMedian Salary (4yr)
1MIT

Cambridge, MA

N/A
2Georgetown University

Washington, DC

$100,387
3Bentley University

Waltham, MA

$87,110
4Molloy University

Rockville Centre, NY

N/A
5DePaul University

Chicago, IL

$71,435
6Champlain College

Burlington, VT

N/A
7Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

$68,338
8Wayne State University

Detroit, MI

$65,563
9Providence College

Providence, RI

$64,080
10Thomas More University

Crestview Hills, KY

N/A
11American Public University System

Charles Town, WV

N/A
12Yale University

New Haven, CT

N/A
13Wesleyan University

Middletown, CT

$60,890
14University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX

$60,690
15CUNY Bernard M Baruch College

New York, NY

$60,423
16Southern New Hampshire University

Manchester, NH

$60,203
17Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia

Philadelphia, PA

$60,107
18University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

$59,713
19UT Austin

Austin, TX

$59,458
20Belmont University

Nashville, TN

$59,218
21William Jewell College

Liberty, MO

$59,142
22Xavier University

Cincinnati, OH

$58,310
23Arizona State University Campus Immersion

Tempe, AZ

$57,628
24Arizona State University Digital Immersion

Scottsdale, AZ

$57,628
25Seton Hall University

South Orange, NJ

$57,533
26University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

Oshkosh, WI

$57,441
27National University

San Diego, CA

N/A
28Metropolitan State University

Saint Paul, MN

$57,427
29Saginaw Valley State University

University Center, MI

$56,972
30University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN

N/A
31University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND

$56,660
32Villanova University

Villanova, PA

$56,373
33Seattle University

Seattle, WA

$55,317
34Cal Poly SLO

San Luis Obispo, CA

$55,078
35NYU

New York, NY

$54,415
36University of Bridgeport

Bridgeport, CT

$53,660
37Saint Mary's College of California

Moraga, CA

$53,489
38Excelsior University

Albany, NY

$53,480
39University of California-Riverside

Riverside, CA

$53,198
40University of St Thomas

Houston, TX

N/A
41George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

$53,166
42Texas State University

San Marcos, TX

$52,889
43Stockton University

Galloway, NJ

$52,751
44Regis College

Weston, MA

N/A
45Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX

$52,558
46University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

$52,263
47Oklahoma State University-Main Campus

Stillwater, OK

$52,247
48Texas Woman's University

Denton, TX

$52,127
49Montana State University Billings

Billings, MT

$52,082
50Neumann University

Aston, PA

$52,081
51University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Milwaukee, WI

$52,033
52University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL

$51,653
53Weber State University

Ogden, UT

$51,593
54Rider University

Lawrenceville, NJ

$51,305
55Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA

$51,305
56Tennessee State University

Nashville, TN

$51,110
57University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg, VA

$51,008
58University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

$50,705
59Charter Oak State College

New Britain, CT

$50,683
60California State University-Stanislaus

Turlock, CA

$50,537

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median among graduates who received federal financial aid.

Choosing the Best Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities Program

Graduate Earnings

Median salary 4 years post-graduation measures the long-term ROI of a program. Higher earnings with lower debt means better financial outcomes.

Program Size

Graduate count signals program maturity. Larger programs often have stronger alumni networks and more job placement resources.

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio

Compare median debt against starting salary. A ratio below 1x means most graduates can repay loans within a year of earnings.

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