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.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 16 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Massachusetts ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,882 associate degrees in liberal arts general studies during the 2022-2023 academic year.
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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 include a college'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.
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 complete 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 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.
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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.
Associate recipients from the liberal arts general studies major at North Shore Community College get $3,560 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
It's hard to beat Bristol Community College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Bristol is a medium-sized public college located in the suburb of Fall River.
Soon after graduation, liberal arts associate recipients usually earn about $31,206 in their early careers.
Middlesex Community College is a wonderful choice for individuals interested in an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the suburb of Bedford, Middlesex Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
After graduation, liberal arts associate recipients typically earn around $31,451 in the first five years of their career.
Springfield Technical Community College is one of the best schools in the country for getting an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. STCC is a small public college located in the midsize city of Springfield.
Students who graduate with their associate from the liberal arts program state that they receive average early career wages of $30,413.
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 program at Massachusetts Bay Community College get $7,997 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Quinsigamond Community College is a moderately-sized public college located in the medium-sized city of Worcester.
Liberal Arts General Studies associate degree recipients from Quinsigamond Community College earn a boost of about $3,731 above the average income of liberal arts general studies graduates.
BHCC is a moderately-sized public college located in the city of Boston.
Liberal Arts General Studies associate degree recipients from Bunker Hill Community College earn a boost of around $8,555 over the typical income of liberal arts general studies graduates.
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.
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.
