Best General Studies Associate Degrees in Minnesota, Ranked (2026)

General Studies Associate Degrees in Minnesota

General studies associate degrees in Minnesota are three programs, and only one of them awards enough degrees to be ranked: Red Lake Nation College in Red Lake awarded 34 in the latest year, while Oak Hills Christian College in Bemidji awarded 5 and Concordia University-Saint Paul 4. Red Lake Nation College is public and the other two are private. It's also the only program at this level you can finish fully online.

Red Lake Nation College scores 54.7, which puts it 169th in the national associate ranking, and the score comes from price as much as anything: $6,640 a year in tuition and required fees, the same for residents and nonresidents, with a 46% graduation rate. Concordia matches that 46% graduation rate but charges $25,000 for its associate degree, the same rate it charges for its bachelor's, and awards 4 a year. Oak Hills charges $18,910 and graduates 23% of its students.

So the two-year general studies market in Minnesota is really one program with two small alternatives, and the thing that makes any of the three useful is what happens afterward. Minnesota State's transfer rules, the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum and the Transfer Pathways degrees, decide whether the credits you earn here count as finished general education at a four-year university, and North Star Promise decides what you pay for them. Both are covered below.

The Best General Studies Associate Degree in Minnesota

The best general studies associate degrees in Minnesota are ranked below by their national score, from the national associate degree ranking. The number on each card is the program's place in Minnesota. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.

1. 1

   Red Lake Nation College

   Minnesota

   54.7

   • Public
   • Fully Online Option

   College graduation rate

   46%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $6,640 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   34

   • College graduation rate percentile 79 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 40 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 29 / 100

   About the Program

   Some 338 students attend Red Lake Nation College, a public community college in Red Lake, Minnesota. During the most recent year on record it awarded 34 associate's degrees, a count at the 29th percentile for size. A 46% graduation rate puts the college at the 79th percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Residents and nonresidents are both charged $6,640 a year in tuition and fees. The degree can be finished entirely online, which suits anyone who cannot move or stop working. Strongest of its measures is the graduation rate of its college, which lands at the 79th percentile.

Other General Studies Associate Degrees in Minnesota

The other general studies associate degrees in Minnesota awarded fewer than 10 degrees in the latest year or did not report a figure the ranking uses, so they are listed here without a score. That says something about size and nothing on its own about quality.

Source: IPEDS, as of September 29, 2026. Graduation rate is the college's, for first-time, full-time students.

How Much Does a General Studies Associate Degree Cost in Minnesota?

A general studies associate degree in Minnesota costs $18,910 a year in tuition and required fees at the median, which with three programs is Oak Hills Christian College's 2023-24 rate, and the range runs from $6,640 at Red Lake Nation College to $25,000 at Concordia University-Saint Paul. Red Lake Nation College charges the same $6,640 whether or not you're a Minnesota resident, and the two private colleges have a single rate as well, so residency doesn't change the price of any program at this level.

The state aid that matters most to a two-year student here is North Star Promise. Under Minnesota Statutes 136A.1465, it pays up to 100 percent of tuition and fees after gift aid is deducted for Minnesota residents with family adjusted gross income below $80,000, and the enrollment bar is low: at least one credit per fall, spring or summer semester in a degree, diploma or certificate program, as long as you don't already hold a bachelor's. Ask each college whether it participates and what your bill looks like after the scholarship and the Minnesota State Grant are applied.

Will a General Studies Associate Degree Transfer in Minnesota?

A general studies associate degree will transfer in Minnesota as finished general education if it's an Associate of Arts, because Minnesota State's System Procedure 3.21.1 says AA degrees meet all goal areas and total credits of the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum and transfer into liberal arts bachelor's programs. The procedure is firm: when a sending college has determined that a student completed the entire MnTC, every receiving college or university must accept it as complete.

So ask Red Lake Nation College, Oak Hills or Concordia whether the degree is an AA and whether you'll leave with the MnTC certified complete, because the certification, not the words on the diploma, is what the receiving university has to honor. A Transfer Pathways degree goes further, described as an AA, AS or AFA that transfers in its entirety to designated bachelor's programs at Minnesota State universities. If the general studies associate isn't one, your general education transfers and your other credits are evaluated course by course.

Reverse transfer is the fallback. Minnesota State transfers your university coursework back to a previously attended community college to see if you're eligible for an Associate of Arts. You need the MnTC complete, at least 12 credits at the community college and at least 60 college-level credits overall, and the system asks your consent before conferring the degree.

What Do Jobs With a General Studies Associate Degree Pay in Minnesota?

Jobs open to a general studies associate degree in Minnesota pay the state medians below, from the May 2025 federal wage survey, with the national median beside each for comparison. Each row links to the salary guide for that job.

How to Choose a General Studies Associate Degree Program in Minnesota

How to choose a general studies associate degree program in Minnesota is mostly a question of whether Red Lake Nation College fits your life, because it's the cheapest program at this level at $6,640, the only online one, and the only one that graduates more than a handful of students a year. Concordia University-Saint Paul matches its 46% graduation rate but costs $25,000 and awarded 4 degrees. Oak Hills Christian College in Bemidji costs $18,910 and graduates 23%, the lowest completion figure in the state at either level.

Price should not be the only filter, though, because North Star Promise can take tuition and fees to zero after gift aid for a resident under the $80,000 income line, which changes the arithmetic at any participating college. So ask three things wherever you apply: whether the degree is an Associate of Arts that leaves you with the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum certified complete, whether it's a Transfer Pathways degree that transfers in its entirety to a designated bachelor's program, and what the net price is once North Star Promise and the State Grant are counted.

If you plan to finish a bachelor's in the state, the general studies bachelor's degrees in Minnesota have their own page.