Ranked #1 in popularity, liberal arts general studies is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 14 schools in Louisiana to determine which ones were the best for liberal arts general studies students pursuing a associate degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,909 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
The liberal arts associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality liberal arts program can vary widely even among the top schools. 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 associate degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their associate degree from the school. After all, your associate 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
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How much a school focuses on liberal arts general studies students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - The number of liberal arts general studies students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How easy is it for liberal arts general studies to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
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.
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 Associate Degree Schools in Louisiana list to help you make the college decision.
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Delgado Community College is a good option for students pursuing an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Delgado Community College is a large public college located in the large city of New Orleans.
Associate graduates who receive their degree from the liberal arts program earn about $26,311 in the first couple years of working.
It's difficult to beat McNeese State University if you wish to pursue an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. McNeese is a moderately-sized public university located in the small city of Lake Charles.
Associate recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at McNeese State University earn $10,377 above the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
South Louisiana Community College is a good choice for individuals interested in an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. South Louisiana Community College is a medium-sized public college located in the medium-sized city of Lafayette.
Soon after graduation, liberal arts associate recipients generally earn about $21,569 in their early careers.
NSU is a medium-sized public university located in the remote town of Natchitoches.
Liberal Arts General Studies associate degree recipients from Northwestern State University of Louisiana get an earnings boost of approximately $6,875 over the average 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.
The liberal arts associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality liberal arts program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
