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2024 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia

11 Colleges in Virginia
2,481 Bachelor's Degrees
$35,130 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in liberal arts general studies, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #13 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 11 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,481 bachelor's degrees in liberal arts general studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Liberal Arts General Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia Your choice of liberal arts general studies for getting your bachelor's 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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

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

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

More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts General Studies Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Liberal Arts Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Liberal Arts General Studies in Virginia

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in liberal arts general studies.

10 Top Virginia Schools for a Bachelor's in Liberal Arts

1
357 Annual Graduates
$34,587 Median Starting Salary
$24,500 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in liberal arts general studies has to check out George Mason University. Located in the large suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public university with a very large student population.

Soon after graduating, liberal arts bachelor's recipients usually earn an average of $34,587 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from George Mason University

2
JMU crest
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA
263 Annual Graduates
$32,885 Median Starting Salary
$23,250 Median Student Debt

James Madison University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the liberal arts program state that they receive average early career wages of $32,885.

More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from James Madison University

3
25 Annual Graduates
$42,201 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Eastern Mennonite University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, Eastern Mennonite is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Those liberal arts general studies students who get their bachelor's degree from Eastern Mennonite University make $7,071 more than the average liberal arts grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from Eastern Mennonite University

4
UMW crest
University of Mary Washington
Fredericksburg, VA
118 Annual Graduates
$34,236 Median Starting Salary
$22,354 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in liberal arts general studies needs to take a look at University of Mary Washington. Located in the suburb of Fredericksburg, UMW is a public university with a small student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the liberal arts program earn an average of $34,236 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from University of Mary Washington

5
Bridgewater crest
Bridgewater College
Bridgewater, VA
18 Annual Graduates
$42,293 Median Starting Salary
$26,000 Median Student Debt

Bridgewater is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Bridgewater.

Bachelor's recipients from the liberal arts general studies degree program at Bridgewater College earn $7,163 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from Bridgewater College

6
Marymount crest
Marymount University
Arlington, VA

Marymount is a small private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Arlington.

Soon after graduation, liberal arts bachelor's recipients usually make around $32,564 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from Marymount University

7
Hampton crest
Hampton University
Hampton, VA
58 Annual Graduates
$26,674 Median Starting Salary
$26,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Hampton, Hampton is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the liberal arts program state that they receive average early career income of $26,674.

More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from Hampton University

8
33 Annual Graduates
$39,891 Median Starting Salary
$27,089 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Staunton, Mary Baldwin is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Those liberal arts general studies students who get their bachelor's degree from Mary Baldwin University earn $4,761 more than the standard liberal arts student.

More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from Mary Baldwin University

9
16 Annual Graduates
$24,878 Median Starting Salary
$18,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the distant town of Buena Vista, SVU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the liberal arts program report average early career earnings of $24,878.

More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from Southern Virginia University

10
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA
69 Annual Graduates
$38,737 Median Starting Salary
$25,291 Median Student Debt

Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Lynchburg.

Bachelor's recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at Liberty University get $3,607 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from Liberty University

Best Liberal Arts General Studies Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 225 1,059
Georgia 224 619
Tennessee 220 654
North Carolina 213 838
South Carolina 195 463
Kentucky 187 916
Alabama 184 333
Louisiana 171 1,077
Mississippi 169 581
Arkansas 167 514
West Virginia 147 1,012

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One of 0 majors within the Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities area of study, Liberal Arts General Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Liberal Arts Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Liberal Arts 2,161
Individualized Studies 261
General Studies 58
Humanities 1

Notes and References

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