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2023 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools

100 Colleges
$28,337 Avg Salary
$17,430 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Liberal Arts General Studies School for You

Liberal Arts General Studies is the #74 most popular major in the country with 2,680 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools ranking. This report analyzed 100 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in the United States

Check out the liberal arts programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 15% Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our analysis found Northwestern University to be the best school for liberal arts general studies students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Northwestern University

The excellent programs at The University of Texas at Austin helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best liberal arts general studies schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a very large student population.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend American Public University System. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools list. American Military University is a very large private for-profit school located in the fringe town of Charles Town.

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The excellent programs at North Carolina State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best liberal arts general studies schools in the United States. Located in the city of Raleigh, NC State is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at North Carolina State University

#5

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Georgetown University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools list. Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Georgetown University

#6

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Johns Hopkins University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best liberal arts general studies programs. Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Baltimore.

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#7

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

Drexel University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for liberal arts general studies students. It came in at #7 on the list. Drexel is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at Drexel University Report

#8

University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL

With a ranking of #8, University of Miami did quite well on this year’s best schools for liberal arts general studies students. U Miami is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Coral Gables.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at University of Miami Report

#9

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best liberal arts general studies programs. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Duke University

#10

Wesleyan University

Middletown, CT

Wesleyan University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools list. Wesleyan U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Middletown.

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#11

University of St. Thomas

Houston, TX

University of St. Thomas landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best liberal arts general studies programs. Located in the city of Houston, UST is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#12

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best liberal arts general studies programs. Located in the remote town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at Dartmouth College Report

#13

Stony Brook University

Stony Brook, NY

Stony Brook University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best liberal arts general studies programs. Located in the large suburb of Stony Brook, SUNY Stony Brook is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at Stony Brook University Report

#14

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at University of Pennsylvania Report

#15

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

University of Iowa ranked #15 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools list. Iowa is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Iowa City.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at University of Iowa

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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 award.

Rank College Location
16 Saint Mary’s College of California Moraga, CA
17 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
18 Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX
19 Excelsior College Albany, NY
20 Rutgers University - Camden Camden, NJ

Liberal Arts General Studies by Region

View the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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.

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