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.
College Factual looked at 102 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 56,574 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
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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
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
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 full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for liberal arts general studies students working on their associate degree.
More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts General Studies Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Liberal Arts General Studies in the Southwest Region
Below you'll see a list of 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.
20 Top Southwest Region Schools for an Associate in Liberal Arts
Eastern Arizona College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the town of Thatcher, Eastern Arizona College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
After graduation, liberal arts associate recipients typically make an average of $26,145 in their early careers.
El Centro College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public college with a very large student population.
Those liberal arts general studies students who get their associate degree from El Centro College receive $5,675 more than the average liberal arts graduate.
It's hard to beat Tarrant County College District if you want to pursue an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the city of Fort Worth, Tarrant County College is a public college with a very large student population.
Those liberal arts general studies students who get their associate degree from Tarrant County College District receive $2,794 more than the typical liberal arts grad.
Every student who is interested in an associate degree in liberal arts general studies has to take a look at Oklahoma City Community College. OCCC is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Oklahoma City.
Associate recipients from the liberal arts general studies major at Oklahoma City Community College earn $7,241 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Pima County Community College District is a fairly large public college located in the city of Tucson.
Those liberal arts general studies students who get their associate degree from Pima Community College earn $3,617 more than the standard liberal arts student.
Located in the large city of Austin, Austin Community College District is a public college with a very large student population.
Liberal Arts General Studies associate degree recipients from Austin Community College District get an earnings boost of about $11,051 over the average income of liberal arts general studies graduates.
Located in the large suburb of McKinney, Collin County Community College District is a public college with a very large student population.
Those liberal arts general studies students who get their associate degree from Collin County Community College District receive $4,729 more than the average liberal arts student.
Houston Community College is a very large public college located in the large city of Houston.
Liberal Arts General Studies associate degree recipients from Houston Community College receive an earnings boost of about $2,038 above the typical earnings of liberal arts general studies majors.
MCC is a moderately-sized public college located in the midsize city of Waco.
Liberal Arts General Studies associate degree recipients from McLennan Community College receive an earnings boost of about $3,305 over the typical income of liberal arts general studies graduates.
CNM is a large public college located in the city of Albuquerque.
Those liberal arts general studies students who get their associate degree from Central New Mexico Community College receive $3,712 more than the average liberal arts student.
Mesa Community College is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Mesa.
Associate recipients from the liberal arts general studies major at Mesa Community College make $18,699 above the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Phoenix College is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Phoenix.
Associate recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at Phoenix College earn $4,324 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
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Honorable Mentions
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 the Southwest Region 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.
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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
