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Home›Majors›Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
UNDERGRADUATE CERTIFICATE OR DIPLOMA · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES

Is a undergraduate certificate or diploma in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities worth it?

Compare cost, debt and earnings across 114 college programs with reportable data.

Personal baseline needed

$44,349 in median year-4 earnings

A credible return for this credential must start with what the student would otherwise earn. The federal data does not provide that personal baseline.

$44,349Median year-4 earnings
$8,057Average institution net-price context
$9,500Median federal debt
Use your actual price and alternative earnings before evaluating return. Model your own starting point →
Start with your decision

What do you need to compare?

WHAT THIS DEGREE PAYS

Outcomes at a glance

$44,349Typical earnings four years after completion
$42,860Average earnings five years after completion
$9,500Typical federal student debt
37thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
91,689Degrees awarded in 2024–25
100College programs reporting earnings

Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 114 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.

A PRACTICAL READ

Four useful answers about Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities

How much do Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities undergraduate certificate or diploma graduates earn?

The national median is $44,349 four years after completion across reportable undergraduate certificate or diploma programs in this federal field.

How much federal debt do graduates have?

The median reported federal debt is $9,500. The figure excludes private loans and does not describe every graduate.

Does the college matter for Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities?

Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $39,656 to $50,226 in observed year-4 earnings.

What careers are related to Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities?

DegreeVerdict links this field to 2 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.

COMPARE DEGREE LEVELS

More schooling changes both the cost and the outcome.

Compare the same field at each degree level with reportable data. These are separate groups of graduates, so the differences do not prove that an additional degree caused higher earnings.

CURRENT VIEW

Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma

Year-4 earnings
$44,349
Federal debt
$9,500
Programs in the comparison
114
100 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Associate's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$42,789
Federal debt
$11,000
Programs in the comparison
997
969 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Bachelor's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$52,545
Federal debt
$27,000
Programs in the comparison
527
488 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Post-baccalaureate Certificate

Year-4 earnings
$100,964
Federal debt
$28,249
Programs in the comparison
2
1 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Master's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$67,332
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
35
35 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Graduate/Professional Certificate

Year-4 earnings
$64,895
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
4
4 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification)

Year-4 earnings
$53,722
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
25
25 report earnings →
COLLEGE-TO-COLLEGE RANGE

Where the middle half of programs lands

Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.

Median
25th percentile$39,656National median$44,34975th percentile$50,226
100 programs report year‑4 earnings.
BEFORE YOU CHOOSE

Compare price, debt and earnings together

$50,22675th-percentile year-4 earnings among reporting programs
$9,500Median federal debt across programs that report it
7Programs with earnings in the top quarter and debt at or below the median
SHORTLIST BY QUESTION

Three useful places to start

Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.

Highest observed earnings

Purdue University-Main Campus

$105,733 four years after completionWest Lafayette, IN · inspect the full program →Lowest reported federal debt

East Los Angeles College

$5,701 among completer borrowersMonterey Park, CA · inspect the full program →Largest recent graduating class

Indiana University-Bloomington

8,459 reported awards in 2024–25Bloomington, IN · inspect the full program →
PRICE × EARNINGS MAP

Where colleges sit for this exact degree

Move left for a lower annual college-wide net price and up for higher observed year-4 earnings.

$93,527Observed year-4 earnings$49,121
$3,337Annual college-wide average net price$19,550
All reporting colleges Lower-price, higher-earnings quadrantAxes trim the outer 5% for readability; outliers remain pinned to the chart edge. Price is institution-wide context, not exact program tuition.
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Choose colleges offering this exact degree

Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.

30 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 25 shown
Search every reporting program →
WHERE OUTCOMES ARE STRONGEST

See the spread, not just the national number.

1Purdue University-Main Campus$105,7332Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks$93,5273Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus$93,5274Pennsylvania State University-World Campus$93,5275Contra Costa College$73,8856Howard College$68,7237Indiana University-Bloomington$64,3458Henry Ford College$64,3099Berkeley City College$62,67210Austin Community College District$59,907

Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking

Career outlook

Jobs this degree may lead to

Federal education-to-career links identify related occupations. They do not imply that every graduate enters the same job.

Postsecondary Teachers, All Other$77,640 median wage149,840 jobs nationwide+2.0% projected growth through 2035 · 12,500 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$44,300–$160,700 typical wage rangeNO MATCHUnreported jobs nationwide

BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.

EXPLORE BY STATE

Where this degree has enough data to compare

State pages are published only when at least five operating colleges report year-4 earnings for this exact field and credential.

CA35 programs$46,864 average earningsVA21 programs$41,191 average earningsAR6 programs$40,531 average earnings

This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.