undergradly.
Major · Liberal Arts & Sciences, General Studies & Humanities

A broad foundation across arts, sciences, and social inquiry

Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies is a structured combination of the arts, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities — emphasis on breadth over specialization. It is the most widely offered major in the country, awarded at 1,536 colleges with over 255,000 completions recorded. The majority are associate degrees used as transfer credentials.

Schools offering
1,536
Annual completions
255,855
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$47k

About this major

Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies is defined by breadth rather than depth. The CIP definition describes it as a structured combination of the arts, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities — a curriculum that samples widely rather than committing to one discipline. Coursework typically spans writing and rhetoric, mathematics, at least one natural science, a social science, and a humanities field. The program also explicitly includes individualized or self-designed programs at some institutions, making it one of the more flexible options in the catalog.

The major's primary function, for most students who earn it, is as a transfer credential. That is not a criticism — it is a practical observation. All ten of the highest-granting institutions for this field are community colleges awarding associate degrees exclusively. Lone Star College System (6,485 completions), Miami Dade College (6,449), and Valencia College (6,079) lead the list — institutions whose Liberal Arts programs are explicitly designed to satisfy transfer requirements to four-year universities in Florida, Texas, and beyond. A student who earns this associate's degree and transfers into a nursing, business, education, or engineering program at a state university is using the credential precisely as intended.

At 255,855 total completions across 1,536 colleges, this is the most broadly offered major in the country by a considerable margin. Five-year median earnings sit around $46,704 overall — $43,213 for associate's completers and $53,600 for bachelor's completers. The BLS formally maps the field to postsecondary teachers ($78,490 median wage), but that occupation requires a doctoral degree; it is not the destination for the majority of holders of this credential. Outcomes in practice are driven by what students do with the breadth this degree provides.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Postsecondary teachers, all other $78k +1.8% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$47k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$43k

Bachelor's

$54k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you are entering a community college with a defined transfer plan — particularly in a state like Florida, Texas, or California where articulation agreements make the associate's in Liberal Arts a well-worn path to four-year admission. You may also fit well here if you are genuinely undecided and need a structured way to sample disciplines before committing: the explicit breadth of the curriculum gives you exposure to sciences, social sciences, and humanities in a single credential, and the flexibility of some programs allows you to orient toward a direction as you progress. And if you are returning to school after a gap and need a degree that builds general academic skills without locking you into a technical sequence, the format can be accommodating.

Think twice if your goal is for this degree to directly open specific career doors on its own — the modest earnings premium between associate's ($43,213) and bachelor's ($53,600) at five years reflects that both are generalist credentials with limited standalone occupational targeting. Think twice, too, if you are committed to a defined professional field like nursing, accounting, or computer science: those majors have clearer credential-to-job pipelines, and the time spent in a generalist program may delay the specialized coursework that employers and licensing boards actually require. The major functions best as a beginning, not an end.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Lone Star College System The Woodlands, TX 6,485 0 6,485
Miami Dade College Miami, FL 6,449 0 6,449
Valencia College Orlando, FL 6,079 0 6,079
Broward College Fort Lauderdale, FL 3,513 0 3,513
Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA 2,846 0 2,846
Palm Beach State College Lake Worth, FL 2,802 0 2,802
Santa Monica College Santa Monica, CA 2,506 0 2,506
Hillsborough Community College Tampa, FL 2,444 0 2,444
St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, FL 2,367 0 2,367
Tallahassee State College Tallahassee, FL 2,211 0 2,211
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

General Studies

103,103 completions/yr

Humanities/Humanistic Studies

21,472 completions/yr

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities, Other

19,655 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

Is a Liberal Arts and Sciences degree basically a transfer degree?
For most people who earn it, yes. The evidence is in the numbers: all ten of the top-granting institutions in this field are community colleges awarding associate degrees — none of them award bachelor's degrees at all. Lone Star College System alone grants over 6,400 per year. That pattern reflects what the credential is most often designed to do: fulfill general education requirements and provide a portable academic foundation before a student transfers into a specialized bachelor's program at a four-year university. It can work as a terminal degree, but that is less common.
What do Liberal Arts and Sciences majors actually study?
The CIP definition describes it as a structured combination of the arts, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities — with explicit emphasis on breadth of study. In practice, coursework spans writing and composition, mathematics or statistics, a natural science, a social science like psychology or sociology, and a humanities discipline like history or philosophy. The mix varies by institution, but no single field dominates the curriculum. The major also explicitly includes individualized or self-designed programs at some schools.
What jobs do people with this degree end up in?
The BLS–CIP crosswalk maps this major formally to postsecondary teachers ($78,490 median wage), but that occupation requires a doctoral or professional degree — it is not a realistic outcome for someone stopping at the associate or bachelor's level. In practice, Liberal Arts graduates disperse into a wide range of fields, with outcomes driven more by what they do after this credential than by the credential itself. An associate's degree holder who transfers into nursing, business, education, or another defined four-year major will have that program's occupational outcomes; someone who stops at the associate's level enters the labor market with generalist credentials.
Does the bachelor's degree pay off compared to the associate's?
The earnings gap here is smaller than in most technical fields. Five-year median earnings for associate's completers run about $43,213; for bachelor's completers the figure is about $53,600 — a difference of roughly $10,400. Compare that to a field like Computer Science, where the bachelor's premium exceeds $40,000. The modest gap is partly because a bachelor's in Liberal Studies is still a generalist credential; the bigger earnings driver is typically what specialization, graduate degree, or career track a person pursues after or alongside it.
How does Liberal Arts and Sciences compare to General Studies or Humanities?
These three majors sit in the same CIP family (24.01) and have substantial overlap. General Studies (24.0102) is the second-most-common, with about 103,000 completions, and tends to be even more flexible — often functioning as a catch-all for undecided students or those completing interdisciplinary requirements. Humanities/Humanistic Studies (24.0103), with about 21,000 completions, is more focused on literature, philosophy, history, and arts. Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies (255,000+ completions) occupies the broadest definition of the three, explicitly including scientific coursework alongside the humanities. The functional differences between them depend heavily on individual programs.
Who should actually enroll in this major?
It is a good fit if you're entering a community college with a clear plan to transfer to a four-year university and need a general-education credential that travels well. It's also suitable if you're genuinely undecided and need time and breadth before committing to a specialized field — with the understanding that the clock is running on ROI. It is a poor fit as a terminal credential if you need the degree itself to open specific career doors; employers and graduate programs typically look past the credential to the skills, experience, and next steps you bring alongside it.