General Studies · Arkansas

Arkansas colleges that awarded General Studies credentials

34 colleges in Arkansas reported conferring General Studies credentials to the federal IPEDS collection in 2024-25, and every one of them also awarded in the year before. 34 awarded a degree. That is a record of credentials already awarded, not confirmation that a program is currently admitting.

Colleges and what they awarded

Largest first by credentials conferred in 2024-25. That order measures the size of the graduating class and nothing else: it is not a ranking, and the largest entry is often a certificate provider rather than the strongest degree program. The credential is labelled on every row for exactly that reason.

Colleges in Arkansas that conferred General Studies credentials in 2024-25, with the number awarded and whether any was a degree.
CollegeCredentials awardedHighest level
Arkansas Tech University1,042Degree
Arkansas State University-Beebe298Degree
Southern Arkansas University Main Campus293Degree
Black River Technical College291Degree
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith227Degree
Arkansas State University207Degree
NorthWest Arkansas Community College181Degree
Arkansas Northeastern College133Degree
Southeast Arkansas College128Degree
University of Central Arkansas91Degree
University of Arkansas Community College Rich Mountain83Degree
University of Arkansas at Little Rock82Degree
Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas65Degree
University of Arkansas Community College-Morrilton59Degree
North Arkansas College56Degree
South Arkansas College52Degree
East Arkansas Community College51Degree
University of Arkansas at Monticello49Degree
Arkansas State University-Mountain Home44Degree
University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College42Degree
Henderson State University37Degree
National Park College28Degree
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff25Degree
Harding University23Degree
Southern Arkansas University Tech21Degree
Shorter College14Degree
University of Arkansas Community College-Batesville13Degree
Ecclesia College12Degree
Central Baptist College10Degree
John Brown University7Degree
University of the Ozarks7Degree
University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana5Degree
Crowley's Ridge College4Degree
Arkansas Baptist College1Degree

How much of this field is in Arkansas

Credentials awarded
3,681
Share of U.S. total
2.9%
Colleges awarding it
34
Awarding a degree
34

Arkansas colleges conferred 3,681 General Studies credentials in 2024-25, which is 2.9% of the 128,814 conferred across the 51 U.S. jurisdictions reporting any. Of the 34 colleges here, every one awarded a degree. These counts measure the size of graduating classes, not program quality, and not how many students are currently enrolled.

What level those credentials were

  • Certificates: 9%, 342 credentials.
  • Associate: 81%, 2,981 credentials.
  • Bachelor's: 10%, 358 credentials.

Most General Studies credentials awarded in Arkansas were associate degrees. The mix here is close to the national pattern for this field. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and the level a program awards is set by the program rather than by the student.

We measured how much this varies nationwide, and for most fields the credential level is set by the field rather than the state: is your major a certificate or a degree?

How concentrated it is. The single college with the largest reported graduating class in this field accounted for 28% of Arkansas’s General Studies credentials. Activity is spread across several institutions rather than sitting with one.

What these Arkansas colleges cost

Median net price across the 25 of these 34 colleges that report it, by family income. Net price is what students receiving federal aid actually paid for the WHOLE college after grants and scholarships, so it is not the price of a General Studies program specifically, and not a quote for any family.

0-30k
$10,918
30-48k
$11,314
48-75k
$14,740
75-110k
$15,719
110k+
$17,627

By the kind of college

The figure above averages very different institutions together. Split by federal sector, for a family earning under $30,000:

Median net price for a family earning under $30,000, by kind of college, among Arkansas colleges that reported awarding General Studies credentials.
Kind of collegeCollegesMedian net price
Public two-year9$8,311
Public four-year9$12,803
Private7$15,388

Sector is the federal classification (IPEDS ICLEVEL and CONTROL). Private covers both nonprofit and for-profit colleges, which CampusPin does not split here because the for-profit sample in a single state is usually too small to publish a median. Each row needs at least five colleges reporting net price, so a sector with fewer is left out rather than estimated.

A family earning under $30,000 paid a median of $10,918 at these colleges, against $17,627 for a family earning over $110,000. Individual colleges vary widely around these medians. See every Arkansas college by income band.

What this evidence does and does not prove

This lists colleges that reported conferring credentials in this field to the federal IPEDS completions collection, in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. It does not confirm that any of them is currently admitting students to the program, and a college can appear here after deciding to close it. Confirm with the institution before it affects where you apply.

How this list was built

From the U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions collection, matched to each college on its exact federal program classification. A college appears only if it conferred credentials in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, which is what separates a running program from one that has already closed.

This page exists because its list of colleges is materially different from that of every closely related field in Arkansas — the fields a reader could otherwise mistake it for, such as two engineering disciplines, or nursing and practical nursing. Where a related field resolves to the same colleges, the second page would be the first one with its title changed, and CampusPin does not publish it. Sharing colleges with an unrelated field is different, and not a reason to withhold the page: in most states the same colleges award business, psychology and biology alike, which says something about the colleges rather than about the fields. We measured exactly how often that happens, and published the result: does choosing a major narrow your college list?

What General Studies graduates go on to do

Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with General Studies, ordered by projected annual openings. National figures: openings and pay do not vary by where you studied, and the crosswalk describes related fields rather than a required or guaranteed path.

Occupations associated with General Studies, with median annual wage, projected annual openings, and the education most entrants hold.
OccupationMedian payOpenings / yrMost entrants hold
Postsecondary Teachers, All Other$78,49013,500Doctoral or professional degree

Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). “Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already in the occupation, not a legal requirement, an admission rule, or a guarantee of entry. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.

Questions about General Studies in Arkansas

How many colleges in Arkansas awarded General Studies credentials?
34 colleges in Arkansas reported conferring General Studies credentials to the federal IPEDS completions collection in 2024-25, 34 of them a degree rather than only a certificate. Together they awarded 3,681 credentials in the fields covered.
Does this mean these colleges currently offer General Studies?
Not necessarily. Completions record credentials already awarded, so they confirm a program ran and graduated students. They do not confirm it is still admitting. Every college here also awarded in the prior year, which makes a closed program less likely, but confirm directly with the institution before it affects where you apply.
Is a college missing from this list?
Possibly. A new program with no graduates yet does not appear, and CampusPin matches the federal classification exactly rather than guessing, so a college filing under a neighbouring code is absent. Absence is never evidence a program does not exist.

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