Best General Studies Associate Degrees in North Dakota, Ranked (2026)

General Studies Associate Degrees in North Dakota

General studies associate degrees in North Dakota are four small programs that awarded 32 degrees between them in the latest year, and three of the four are at tribal colleges. Mayville State University, a public university, is the exception and the higher-scoring of the two ranked programs: 39.9, 318th in the national associate ranking, on 10 degrees a year, a 41% graduation rate and $7,935 in resident tuition and required fees, with the degree taught online. United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck is the other ranked program at 29.1, 390th nationally, on 11 degrees, $4,252 and a 21% graduation rate, also online.

Mayville State's score comes from completion, since it graduates nearly twice the share United Tribes does. United Tribes' comes from price, since it charges $3,683 less and the same to everyone. Neither awards many degrees, and both sit right at the ranking threshold of 10 a year.

Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates and Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College in New Town awarded 6 and 5 degrees, below the threshold, at $4,010 and $3,870. Sitting Bull graduates 22% of its students and Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish 7%. So the state's two-year general studies degree is mostly a tribal college degree, priced under $4,300 at three of the four colleges, and the one university offering it charges nearly double but finishes far more of its students.

The 2 Best General Studies Associate Degrees in North Dakota

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

1. 1

   Mayville State University

   North Dakota

   39.9

   • Public
   • Fully Online Option

   College graduation rate

   41%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $7,935 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   10

   • College graduation rate percentile 68 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 30 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 2 / 100

   About the Program

   Mayville, North Dakota is home to Mayville State University, a public university of 1,134 students. During the most recent year on record it awarded 10 associate's degrees, a count at the 2nd percentile for size. A 41% graduation rate puts the college at the 68th percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Expect tuition and fees of $7,935 a year as a resident and $9,564 otherwise. Because the full degree is offered online, it is open to students well outside the region. Strongest of its measures is the graduation rate of its college, which lands at the 68th percentile.

2. 2

   United Tribes Technical College

   North Dakota

   29.1

   • Private nonprofit
   • Fully Online Option

   College graduation rate

   21%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $4,252 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   11

   • College graduation rate percentile 11 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 78 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 4 / 100

   About the Program

   Based in Bismarck, North Dakota, United Tribes Technical College is a private nonprofit college with 576 students on its rolls. It conferred 11 associate's degrees in the latest reported year, which is more than 4% of the associate's programs ranked at this level. Across the whole college, 21% of students finish, which is a higher rate than 11% of the institutions behind this list. Tuition and fees are $4,252 a year for every student, residents and nonresidents alike. Distance students can complete the whole degree online, so where you live matters less here. What lifts it most is price, where it reaches the 78th percentile.

Other General Studies Associate Degrees in North Dakota

The other general studies associate degrees in North Dakota 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 North Dakota?

A general studies associate degree in North Dakota costs a median of $4,131 a year in tuition and required fees for 2023-24 across the four programs. Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College charges $3,870, Sitting Bull College $4,010 and United Tribes Technical College $4,252, and all three charge out-of-state students the same. Mayville State University charges residents $7,935 and non-residents $9,564, so the public university is the one place on this list where residency changes the bill, and even there the difference is $1,629.

The North Dakota State Grant is need-based aid for North Dakota residents who are first-time undergraduates pursuing an eligible program at a qualifying North Dakota institution and enrolled at least quarter-time. It awards up to $1,375 per semester or $917 per quarter, based on enrollment status, so a part-time student gets a smaller award rather than nothing, and two semesters at the maximum come to well over half of United Tribes' $4,252. New for 2025-26, a Supplemental State Grant adds to that for State Grant recipients with family income of $80,000 or less who take at least 3 credit hours. The first-time undergraduate rule is the one to check if you're coming back with earlier credits.

Will a General Studies Associate Degree Transfer in North Dakota?

A general studies associate degree transfers in North Dakota through GERTA, the General Education Requirement Transfer Agreement, under which an approved set of general education courses is transferable between North Dakota University System institutions, the state's five tribal colleges and one North Dakota private university. GERTA lets you complete general education requirements at any University System campus or North Dakota tribal college and then transfer your general education program to another institution. That reach into the tribal colleges is what makes this level work, since three of the four programs are at them.

Behind GERTA sits State Board Policy 403.7, which in a copy hosted by North Dakota State University, effective November 2009, sets a 36-semester-hour common general education requirement and says students completing Associate in Science and Associate in Arts degrees at system campuses meet the lower-division general education requirements. Two phrases matter: system campuses, and AA or AS. Mayville State is a system campus, so ask whether its associate is an AA or AS. The tribal colleges aren't system campuses, so their graduates rely on GERTA's course-level guarantee instead. Confirm the current policy with the college, since the public copy is NDSU's.

Course matching is simple because North Dakota's public, tribal and private colleges use a common course numbering system. Ask any college how many of the 36 hours its general studies degree covers.

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

Jobs open to a general studies associate degree in North Dakota 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 North Dakota

To choose a general studies associate degree program in North Dakota, decide whether you want the tribal college price or the university completion rate, because no program offers both. United Tribes, Sitting Bull and Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish charge $3,870 to $4,252 and graduate 7% to 22% of their students. Mayville State charges $7,935 and graduates 41%. Mayville and United Tribes both teach the degree online, so format doesn't settle it, and both award 10 or 11 degrees a year, so neither is a large program.

If the associate is a step toward a bachelor's, Mayville State awards a general studies bachelor's at the same $7,935, so ask how its two-year graduates move into the four-year degree. At a tribal college, ask how many of its general studies courses carry GERTA approval and whether its graduates have entered Minot State, Valley City State or the University of North Dakota as juniors. At every college, ask whether you count as a first-time undergraduate for the State Grant. The national associate ranking shows where 39.9 and 29.1 sit.

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