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.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 17 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in Tennessee ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 8,164 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. 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 full 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 Tennessee list to help you make the college decision.
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It's difficult to beat Cumberland University if you wish to pursue an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the town of Lebanon, CU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Associate students who receive their degree from the liberal arts program make around $22,849 for their early career.
It is hard to beat Chattanooga State Community College if you want to pursue an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Chattanooga State Community College is a moderately-sized public college located in the medium-sized city of Chattanooga.
Students who graduate with their associate from the liberal arts program report average early career wages of $25,797.
Any student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in liberal arts general studies needs to check out Austin Peay State University. Austin Peay State University is a medium-sized public university located in the medium-sized city of Clarksville.
Liberal Arts General Studies associate degree recipients from Austin Peay State University receive an earnings boost of around $4,656 over the average earnings of liberal arts general studies graduates.
Southwest is a moderately-sized public college located in the large city of Memphis.
Associate recipients from the liberal arts general studies degree program at Southwest Tennessee Community College make $2,928 more than the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Nashville, Nashville State Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Associate recipients from the liberal arts general studies major at Nashville State Community College earn $3,228 more than the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
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.