2024 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in the Southwest Region
120Colleges in the Southwest Region
79,412Liberal Arts Degrees Awarded
$29,155Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #1 in popularity, liberal arts general studies is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 120 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for liberal arts general studies students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 79,412 degrees in liberal arts general studies to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Liberal Arts General Studies School
The liberal arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Liberal Arts General Studies rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for liberal arts general studies schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Pick Your Liberal Arts General Studies 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 Southwest Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Liberal Arts General Studies in the Southwest Region
The schools below may not offer all types of liberal arts degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Any student pursuing a degree in liberal arts general studies needs to check out The University of Texas at Austin. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #36 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.
There were about 365 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent year we have data available. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from The University of Texas at Austin make $33,658 more than the standard liberal arts grad.
Southern Methodist University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the large suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SMU is a great university overall.
There were about 99 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at SMU in the most recent year we have data available. Liberal Arts General Studies degree recipients from Southern Methodist University get an earnings boost of about $18,474 above the average income of liberal arts general studies graduates.
University of Oklahoma Norman Campus is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the midsize suburb of Norman, University of Oklahoma is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #140 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means University of Oklahoma is a great university overall.
There were roughly 528 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at University of Oklahoma in the most recent year we have data available. Liberal Arts General Studies degree recipients from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus earn a boost of about $17,595 over the average earnings of liberal arts general studies graduates.
It's difficult to beat University of St. Thomas if you want to pursue a degree in liberal arts general studies. UST is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Houston. This university ranks 38th out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were roughly 72 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at UST in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at University of St. Thomas earn $20,117 above the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Wayland Baptist University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the remote town of Plainview. This university ranks 24th out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were about 283 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Wayland Baptist University in the most recent year we have data available. Liberal Arts General Studies degree recipients from Wayland Baptist University receive an earnings boost of about $13,774 above the average earnings of liberal arts general studies majors.
ASU - Tempe is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Tempe. A Best Colleges rank of #119 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.
There were approximately 106 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent data year. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from Arizona State University - Tempe receive $10,948 more than the typical liberal arts student.
Located in the city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means TCU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 82 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at TCU in the most recent year we have data available. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from Texas Christian University receive $19,085 more than the typical liberal arts grad.
Located in the city of Irving, UD is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 34th out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were approximately 31 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at UD in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies major at University of Dallas make $19,926 above the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Texas Tech is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Lubbock. A Best Colleges rank of #168 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Texas Tech is a great university overall.
There were approximately 198 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Texas Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from Texas Tech University receive $5,136 more than the typical liberal arts student.
Located in the suburb of Killeen, Central Texas College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #254 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Central Texas College is a great college overall.
There were about 1171 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Central Texas College in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at Central Texas College make $5,951 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the city of Denton, UNT is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #280 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNT is a great university overall.
There were roughly 560 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at UNT in the most recent year we have data available. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from University of North Texas earn $5,527 more than the standard liberal arts grad.
Located in the city of Albuquerque, CNM is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 2nd out of 23 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Mexico.
There were roughly 4698 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at CNM in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the liberal arts program make an average of $26,799 in their early career salary.
Located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #314 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ASU - Skysong is a great university overall.
There were about 402 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Skysong in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies degree program at Arizona State University - Skysong earn $10,948 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the city of Mesa, Mesa Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 9th out of 26 colleges for overall quality in the state of Arizona.
There were approximately 772 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Mesa Community College in the most recent data year. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from Mesa Community College earn $3,552 more than the average liberal arts student.
OSU is a very large public university located in the distant town of Stillwater. A Best Colleges rank of #227 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means OSU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 263 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at OSU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies major at Oklahoma State University - Main Campus make $2,114 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Flagstaff, NAU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #278 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means NAU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 498 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at NAU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies major at Northern Arizona University earn $6,523 more than the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Northwest Vista College is a fairly large public college located in the large city of San Antonio. This college ranks 19th out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were approximately 2384 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Northwest Vista College in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, liberal arts degree recipients typically make around $22,731 in their early careers.
Located in the city of Oklahoma City, OCCC is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 6th out of 32 colleges for overall quality in the state of Oklahoma.
There were about 690 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at OCCC in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the liberal arts program earn around $30,684 for their early career.
Here are some additional great schools for Liberal Arts General Studies students in the Southwest Region that almost earned our Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in the Southwest 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).
college factual
The liberal arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Liberal Arts General Studies rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for liberal arts general studies schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
