General Studies · Ohio

Ohio colleges that awarded General Studies credentials

44 colleges in Ohio reported conferring General Studies credentials to the federal IPEDS collection in 2024-25, and every one of them also awarded in the year before. 42 awarded a degree, and 2 awarded only a certificate. 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 Ohio that conferred General Studies credentials in 2024-25, with the number awarded and whether any was a degree.
CollegeCredentials awardedHighest level
Owens Community College841Degree
Lorain County Community College745Certificate only
Kent State University at Stark637Degree
Ohio State University-Newark Campus296Degree
Terra State Community College241Degree
Stark State College223Degree
Youngstown State University133Degree
Marion Technical College110Degree
Ohio State University-Mansfield Campus110Degree
Ohio State University-Marion Campus110Degree
University of Cincinnati-Clermont College102Degree
Kent State University at Geauga86Degree
Kent State University at Kent79Degree
University of Toledo79Degree
Kent State University at Trumbull75Degree
Kent State University at Tuscarawas65Degree
Ashland University51Degree
Kent State University at Salem46Degree
University of Rio Grande44Degree
Miami University-Hamilton43Degree
Ohio State University-Lima Campus43Degree
Kent State University at Ashtabula41Degree
Franciscan University of Steubenville38Degree
Belmont College36Degree
Ohio Christian University33Degree
Shawnee State University28Degree
Hocking College27Degree
Miami University-Middletown23Degree
Mount Vernon Nazarene University20Degree
Kent State University at East Liverpool13Degree
University of Akron Main Campus13Degree
Gods Bible School and College10Degree
James A. Rhodes State College9Degree
Ohio University-Main Campus8Degree
The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences7Degree
Allegheny Wesleyan College5Degree
Sinclair Community College5Degree
University of Dayton5Degree
The University of Findlay4Degree
Wright State University-Main Campus2Certificate only
Defiance College1Degree
Malone University1Degree
Marietta College1Degree
Washington State Community College1Degree

How much of this field is in Ohio

Credentials awarded
4,490
Share of U.S. total
3.5%
Colleges awarding it
44
Awarding a degree
42

Ohio colleges conferred 4,490 General Studies credentials in 2024-25, which is 3.5% of the 128,814 conferred across the 51 U.S. jurisdictions reporting any. Of the 44 colleges here, 42 awarded a degree and 2 awarded only a certificate. 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: 38%, 1,728 credentials.
  • Associate: 55%, 2,468 credentials.
  • Bachelor's: 7%, 294 credentials.

Most General Studies credentials awarded in Ohio were associate degrees. That is 18 percentage points less weighted toward associate degrees than the field nationally, where they are 73% of credentials. 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 19% of Ohio’s General Studies credentials. Activity is spread across several institutions rather than sitting with one.

What these Ohio colleges cost

Median net price across the 41 of these 44 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
$10,371
30-48k
$11,514
48-75k
$13,874
75-110k
$15,906
110k+
$16,749

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 Ohio colleges that reported awarding General Studies credentials.
Kind of collegeCollegesMedian net price
Public four-year26$8,578
Private11$19,184

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 $10,371 at these colleges, against $16,749 for a family earning over $110,000. Individual colleges vary widely around these medians. See every Ohio 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 Ohio — 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 Ohio

How many colleges in Ohio awarded General Studies credentials?
44 colleges in Ohio reported conferring General Studies credentials to the federal IPEDS completions collection in 2024-25, 42 of them a degree rather than only a certificate. Together they awarded 4,490 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.

Keep going