2024 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in the Plains States Region
105Colleges in the Plains States Region
31,199Liberal Arts Degrees Awarded
$28,497Avg 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 31,199 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 hard to beat University of Kansas if you wish to pursue a degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the 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 about 118 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at KU in the most recent year we have data available. Liberal Arts General Studies degree recipients from University of Kansas receive an earnings boost of approximately $8,435 over the typical income of liberal arts general studies graduates.
University of Iowa is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #84 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.
There were approximately 221 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 $10,151 above the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
It's hard to beat Columbia College if you wish to pursue a degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the 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 approximately 871 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 degree program at Columbia College get $12,424 more than the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Normandale Community College is a good choice 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 colleges nationwide means Normandale Community College is a great college overall.
There were approximately 713 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Normandale Community College in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the liberal arts program earn about $30,185 in their early career salary.
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 about 20 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at UMary in the most recent data year. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from University of Mary earn $2,253 more than the average liberal arts student.
UND is a fairly large public university located in the city of Grand Forks. A Best Colleges rank of #218 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UND is a great university overall.
There were approximately 99 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at UND in the most recent year we have data available. Liberal Arts General Studies degree recipients from University of North Dakota receive an earnings boost of approximately $8,986 over the typical earnings of liberal arts general studies majors.
UNI is a moderately-sized public university located in the small city of Cedar Falls. A Best Colleges rank of #199 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.
There were about 68 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the liberal arts program make an average of $29,615 for their early career.
DMACC is a very large public college located in the large suburb of Ankeny. A Best Colleges rank of #501 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means DMACC is a great college overall.
There were approximately 1170 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 about $28,831 in their early career salary.
Located in the remote 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 356 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 major at Fort Hays State University make $7,749 more than the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the large city of Kansas City, UMKC is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #480 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UMKC is a great university overall.
There were about 137 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at UMKC in the most recent data year. Liberal Arts General Studies degree recipients from University of Missouri - Kansas City receive an earnings boost of around $6,585 over the average income of liberal arts general studies graduates.
MCC is a large public college located in the large city of Kansas City. This college ranks 17th out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were about 2357 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 around $24,540 for their early career.
JCCC is a large public college located in the medium-sized city of Overland Park. This college ranks 5th out of 47 schools for overall quality in the state of Kansas.
There were approximately 1257 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at JCCC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the liberal arts program state that they receive average early career wages of $29,254.
William Jewell is a fairly small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Liberty. This college ranks 22nd out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were roughly 18 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 earn $11,328 more than the standard liberal arts grad.
Located in the large city of Omaha, MCC is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 6th out of 19 schools for overall quality in the state of Nebraska.
There were approximately 568 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at MCC in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, liberal arts degree recipients generally earn an average of $27,271 at the beginning of their careers.
Located in the fringe 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 colleges nationwide means Simpson College is a great college overall.
There were approximately 14 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Simpson College in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at Simpson College get $7,941 above the standard graduate in this field 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 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.
There were about 650 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies degree program at Anoka-Ramsey Community College make $4,843 above the average college graduate with the same degree 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).
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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.
