2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies in the Plains States Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 559,661 liberal arts general studies students received their degree, making the major the 1st most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, liberal arts general studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $26,786 and had an average of $16,538 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 31,703 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,800 and $15,275 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 31 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,438 and $39,783 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in liberal arts general studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts general studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the liberal arts general studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies in the Plains States Region

#1

Baker University

Baldwin City, Kansas

#3 in overall quality

$11,844 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$49,644 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Baker University landed the #1 spot on the list. Baldwin City, Kansas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s liberal arts degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

Baker not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Baker University are $11,844.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Baker University

#2

Wichita State University

Wichita, Kansas

#1 in overall quality

$15,112 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Wichita State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region. This fairly large school is located in Wichita, Kansas, and it awarded 1 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

WSU also took the #1 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at WSU are $15,112, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Wichita State University Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#3

Metropolitan State University

Saint Paul, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$17,552 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Metropolitan State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region. Metro State is a medium-sized public school situated in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It awarded 3 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Metro State also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #2. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Metro State are $17,552.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Metropolitan State University

#4

University of Missouri - Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri

#4 in overall quality

$26,699 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Missouri - Kansas City landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Missouri - Kansas City is located in Kansas City, Missouri and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 masters’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.

UMKC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UMKC are $26,699, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at UMKC

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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