College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 455 colleges (455 of 455 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$32,328

Graduates only, early career.$32,124 two years out.

Median federal debt

$22,998

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.69×

69% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities report early-career pay between $27,894 and $36,457 — a spread of $8,563 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $27,894 median $32,328 75th pct $36,457

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Certificate 19 colleges $27,185 $8,982 0.43×

Associate's 796 colleges $24,140 $9,619 0.40×

Bachelor's 455 colleges $32,328 $22,998 0.69×

Master's 38 colleges $47,226 $39,444 0.75×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA $85,273 $11,935 debt

Georgetown University DC $74,919 —

Champlain College VT $70,375 $12,500 debt

American Public University System WV $64,720 —

Bentley University MA $62,629 $26,000 debt

DePaul University IL $59,652 $37,499 debt

Drexel University PA $52,955 $24,548 debt

Purdue University-Main Campus IN $49,996 —

North Carolina State University at Raleigh NC $49,578 $19,028 debt

University of St Thomas TX $49,272 $23,326 debt

Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia PA $49,042 $29,449 debt

Southern New Hampshire University NH $48,678 $13,023 debt

Southern Methodist University TX $47,744 —

University of Miami FL $47,378 $26,175 debt

Excelsior University NY $45,508 $7,925 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard