2024 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Massachusetts

Liberal Arts General Studies is of the hottest associate degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #1 most popular major 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 15 schools in Massachusetts to determine which ones were the best for liberal arts general studies students pursuing a associate degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,503 associate degrees in liberal arts general studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Liberal Arts General Studies School for Your Associate Degree

Your choice of liberal arts general studies for getting your associate degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to liberal arts general studies students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other liberal arts general studies students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt liberal arts general studies students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized liberal arts general studies related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for liberal arts general studies students working on their associate degree.

More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts General Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Massachusetts list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Liberal Arts General Studies in Massachusetts

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for liberal arts general studies students seeking a an associate degree.

10 Top Massachusetts Schools for an Associate in Liberal Arts

1

Middlesex Community College
Bedford, MA

256 Annual Graduates

$27,421 Median Starting Salary

$7,928 Median Student Debt

Middlesex Community College is a great choice for students pursuing an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the suburb of Bedford, Middlesex Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Those liberal arts general studies students who get their associate degree from Middlesex Community College earn $3,279 more than the typical liberal arts graduate.

More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from Middlesex Community College

2

North Shore Community College
Danvers, MA

219 Annual Graduates

$26,205 Median Starting Salary

$9,000 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in an associate degree in liberal arts general studies has to take a look at North Shore Community College. Located in the suburb of Danvers, North Shore Community College is a public college with a small student population.

Those liberal arts general studies students who get their associate degree from North Shore Community College make $2,063 more than the average liberal arts grad.

More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from North Shore Community College

3

Massachusetts Bay Community College
Wellesley Hills, MA

125 Annual Graduates

$30,996 Median Starting Salary

$8,750 Median Student Debt

Massachusetts Bay Community College is a great choice for students interested in an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the large suburb of Wellesley Hills, MassBay Community College is a public college with a small student population.

Associate recipients from the liberal arts general studies major at Massachusetts Bay Community College earn $6,854 more than the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from Massachusetts Bay Community College

4

Springfield Technical Community College
Springfield, MA

190 Annual Graduates

$26,913 Median Starting Salary

$8,734 Median Student Debt

Springfield Technical Community College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. STCC is a small public college located in the city of Springfield.

Liberal Arts General Studies associate degree recipients from Springfield Technical Community College earn a boost of approximately $2,771 over the average income of liberal arts general studies majors.

More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from Springfield Technical Community College

5

Bristol Community College
Fall River, MA

422 Annual Graduates

$26,688 Median Starting Salary

$8,250 Median Student Debt

Bristol is a medium-sized public college located in the suburb of Fall River.

Associate recipients from the liberal arts general studies degree program at Bristol Community College get $2,546 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from Bristol Community College

6

Northern Essex Community College
Haverhill, MA

91 Annual Graduates

$27,445 Median Starting Salary

$9,969 Median Student Debt

Located in the suburb of Haverhill, NECC is a public college with a small student population.

Associate recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at Northern Essex Community College make $3,303 above the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from Northern Essex Community College

7

Quincy College
Quincy, MA

82 Annual Graduates

$26,944 Median Starting Salary

$17,400 Median Student Debt

Quincy College is a small public college located in the suburb of Quincy.

Those liberal arts general studies students who get their associate degree from Quincy College make $2,802 more than the standard liberal arts grad.

More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from Quincy College

8

Holyoke Community College
Holyoke, MA

237 Annual Graduates

$22,505 Median Starting Salary

$8,995 Median Student Debt

Holyoke Community College is a small public college located in the large suburb of Holyoke.

After graduating, liberal arts associate recipients generally earn an average of $22,505 in their early careers.

More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from Holyoke Community College

9

Cape Cod Community College
West Barnstable, MA

91 Annual Graduates

$25,411 Median Starting Salary

$6,749 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of West Barnstable, Cape Cod Community College is a public college with a small student population.

Soon after graduation, liberal arts associate recipients usually earn around $25,411 in their early careers.

More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from Cape Cod Community College

10

Quinsigamond Community College
Worcester, MA

109 Annual Graduates

$20,240 Median Starting Salary

$14,250 Median Student Debt

Quinsigamond Community College is a moderately-sized public college located in the midsize city of Worcester.

Associate students who receive their degree from the liberal arts program make around $20,240 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from Quinsigamond Community College

Best Liberal Arts General Studies Colleges in the New England Region

Explore all the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in the New England Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Connecticut	101	1,478
New Hampshire	80	1,487
Rhode Island	70	1,242
Maine	69	377
Vermont	58	182

View All Rankings >

Liberal Arts General Studies Related Rankings by Major

Liberal Arts General Studies is one of 0 different types of Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities programs to choose from.

Liberal Arts Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Liberal Arts	1,723
General Studies	656
Individualized Studies	123
Humanities	1

Notes and References

• 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.