2024 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in the Plains States Region
105Colleges in the Plains States Region
30,177Liberal Arts Degrees Awarded
$28,069Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in liberal arts general studies, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #1 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 105 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for liberal arts general studies students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 30,177 degrees in liberal arts general studies to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Liberal Arts General Studies School
Your choice of liberal arts general studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Liberal Arts General Studies School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Liberal Arts General Studies Rankings by Degree Level
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in the Plains States Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Schools for Liberal Arts General Studies in the Plains States Region
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the liberal arts degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
16 Top Plains States Region Schools in Liberal Arts
It's difficult to beat University of Kansas if you wish to pursue a degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the small city of Lawrence, KU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means KU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 260 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at KU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies major at University of Kansas get $8,863 above the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
University of Iowa is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #84 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.
There were approximately 191 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at University of Iowa earn $10,579 above the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
It's hard to beat Columbia College if you want to pursue a degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, Columbia College Missouri is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. This college ranks 16th out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were roughly 636 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Columbia College Missouri in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at Columbia College make $12,853 above the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Normandale Community College is a good decision for students interested in a degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the small city of Bloomington, Normandale Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #343 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Normandale Community College is a great college overall.
There were roughly 883 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Normandale Community College in the most recent year we have data available. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from Normandale Community College make $2,116 more than the average liberal arts grad.
UMary is a small private not-for-profit university located in the rural area of Bismarck. A Best Colleges rank of #312 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UMary is a great university overall.
There were approximately 26 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at UMary in the most recent data year. Liberal Arts General Studies degree recipients from University of Mary earn a boost of about $2,681 above the average income of liberal arts general studies majors.
UND is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Grand Forks. A Best Colleges rank of #218 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UND is a great university overall.
There were approximately 101 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at UND in the most recent data year. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from University of North Dakota make $9,414 more than the typical liberal arts graduate.
UNI is a medium-sized public university located in the city of Cedar Falls. A Best Colleges rank of #199 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.
There were about 57 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the liberal arts program earn an average of $29,615 in their early career salary.
DMACC is a fairly large public college located in the suburb of Ankeny. A Best Colleges rank of #501 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means DMACC is a great college overall.
There were about 1002 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at DMACC in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the liberal arts program make an average of $28,831 for their early career.
Located in the town of Hays, FHSU is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 47 colleges for overall quality in the state of Kansas.
There were approximately 223 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at FHSU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at Fort Hays State University make $8,177 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Kansas City, UMKC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #480 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UMKC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 121 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at UMKC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies major at University of Missouri - Kansas City make $7,013 more than the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
MCC is a fairly large public college located in the city of Kansas City. This college ranks 17th out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were about 2499 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at MCC in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the liberal arts program earn about $24,540 in their early career salary.
JCCC is a fairly large public college located in the city of Overland Park. This college ranks 5th out of 47 schools for overall quality in the state of Kansas.
There were approximately 1165 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at JCCC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the liberal arts program report average early career income of $29,254.
William Jewell is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Liberty. This college ranks 22nd out of 48 colleges for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were about 7 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at William Jewell in the most recent data year. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from William Jewell College make $11,756 more than the typical liberal arts student.
Located in the large city of Omaha, MCC is a public college with a large student population. This college ranks 6th out of 19 colleges for overall quality in the state of Nebraska.
There were roughly 510 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at MCC in the most recent data year. After graduating, liberal arts degree recipients usually earn about $27,271 in their early careers.
Located in the town of Indianola, Simpson College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #549 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Simpson College is a great college overall.
There were about 20 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Simpson College in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies major at Simpson College get $8,369 more than the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the suburb of Coon Rapids, Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. This college ranks 31st out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.
There were about 648 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies degree program at Anoka-Ramsey Community College make $5,271 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
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 in the Plains States Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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).
Your choice of liberal arts general studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Liberal Arts General Studies School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
