If you pursue a associate 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 makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 50 schools in North Carolina to determine which ones were the best for liberal arts general studies students pursuing a associate degree. Combined, these schools handed out 16,587 associate degrees in liberal arts general studies to qualified students.
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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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
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 Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
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.
The liberal arts school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina.
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Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Liberal Arts General Studies in North Carolina
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
10 Top North Carolina Schools for an Associate in Liberal Arts
Mitchell Community College is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Mitchell Community College is a small public college located in the fringe town of Statesville.
Associate graduates who receive their degree from the liberal arts program make an average of $27,667 for their early career.
Alamance Community College is one of the best schools in the country for getting an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. ACC is a small public college located in the midsize suburb of Graham.
Students who graduate with their associate from the liberal arts program report average early career income of $26,855.
Surry Community College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the rural area of Dobson, Surry Community College is a public college with a small student population.
Students who graduate with their associate from the liberal arts program report average early career wages of $24,635.
Wake Technical Community College is a good option for individuals pursuing an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the large suburb of Raleigh, Wake Technical Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Associate recipients from the liberal arts general studies degree program at Wake Technical Community College make $3,652 above the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
RCC is a small public college located in the rural area of Wentworth.
Liberal Arts General Studies associate degree recipients from Rockingham Community College receive an earnings boost of about $4,144 over the typical income of liberal arts general studies majors.
Located in the town of Asheboro, Randolph Community College is a public college with a small student population.
Those liberal arts general studies students who get their associate degree from Randolph Community College earn $13,424 more than the average liberal arts student.
Located in the small city of Asheville, A-B Tech is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Associate recipients from the liberal arts general studies degree program at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College earn $2,735 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
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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 Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina 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.
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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
