Source: IPEDS, as of September 29, 2026. Cost is resident tuition plus required fees, 2023-24.
Associate Degrees in Rhode Island
1
Meet the Ranking Threshold
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Median Resident Tuition and Fees
$5,326
With a Fully Online Option
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General Studies Associate Degrees in Rhode Island
General studies associate degrees in Rhode Island mean the Community College of Rhode Island and nothing else: CCRI in Warwick is the state's only program at this level, and it awarded 950 general studies associate degrees in the latest year. It's ranked 212th on the national associate ranking with a score of 49.9, on resident tuition and fees of $5,326, a 26% graduation rate and a fully online option.
Those three figures describe the program exactly. The price is low and the degree can be finished from anywhere in the state. The graduation rate is the college's rate for first-time, full-time students, and at 26% it says most of them don't finish on time. Nonresidents pay $14,210.
Because there's one program, the questions on this page are about the program's shape rather than a choice between colleges: what it costs, how the Joint Admissions Agreement turns it into a bachelor's at Rhode Island College or the University of Rhode Island, and what help the state gives adults going back.
The Best General Studies Associate Degree in Rhode Island
The best general studies associate degrees in Rhode Island are ranked below by their national score, from the national associate degree ranking. The number on each card is the program's place in Rhode Island. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.
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Community College of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
49.9- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 26%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $5,326 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 950
About the Program
Based in Warwick, Rhode Island, Community College of Rhode Island is a public community college with 12,275 students on its rolls. Some 950 associate's degrees were conferred in the last year on record, a bigger output than 96% of the programs ranked alongside it. Across the whole college, 26% of students finish, which is a higher rate than 21% of the institutions behind this list. Tuition and fees are $5,326 a year for residents and $14,210 for students from out of state, which makes it cheaper than 55% of programs at this level. Distance students can complete the whole degree online, so where you live matters less here. Strongest of its measures is the number of degrees it awards, which lands at the 96th percentile.
How Much Does a General Studies Associate Degree Cost in Rhode Island?
A general studies associate degree in Rhode Island costs $5,326 a year in resident tuition and required fees for 2023-24 at the Community College of Rhode Island, and since CCRI is the only program at this level, that is the price of the degree in Rhode Island, full stop. Nonresidents pay $14,210. Set against the 950 degrees CCRI awarded in the latest year, it's the price nearly every general studies graduate in the state paid.
State support for an adult going back to CCRI is guidance rather than a grant. Rhode Island Reconnect, run by the Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner, is a free program that connects adults returning to school with experienced educational navigators, and those navigators identify non-tuition financial barriers that could stop you finishing a degree or certificate and recommend ways to address them. The office puts the case plainly: about 55.2% of Rhode Island adults aged 25 to 64 hold a degree or credential today. If you're an adult coming back for the general studies associate, start with a Reconnect navigator, who is the person to tell you what tuition help you qualify for at CCRI.
Will a General Studies Associate Degree Transfer in Rhode Island?
A general studies associate degree from CCRI transfers to Rhode Island College or the University of Rhode Island with guaranteed credit under the Joint Admissions Agreement, as long as general studies is one of the transfer tracks the colleges have agreed and you've signed up in time. JAA students who earn a CCRI associate degree in an agreed transfer track are guaranteed that a minimum of 30 credits will transfer to fulfill general education requirements at RIC or URI, and with additional credits the agreement guarantees at least 60 transfer credits applicable to degree requirements in a specified program.
The conditions are set early. You have to enroll under the JAA before earning 30 credits, finish the associate degree within five years, and hold a cumulative GPA of 2.40 or higher. Miss the 30-credit deadline and the guarantee is gone, though the agreement does protect students who complete the general education requirements for an associate degree without attaining the degree: they get the same acceptance of those credits.
So the first-semester job at CCRI is to confirm which transfer tracks the JAA covers for the bachelor's you want at RIC or URI, and to sign the forms before your 30th credit. The private colleges in Providence aren't party to the JAA, so they evaluate a CCRI transcript on their own terms.
What Do Jobs With a General Studies Associate Degree Pay in Rhode Island?
Jobs open to a general studies associate degree in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island
How to choose a general studies associate degree program in Rhode Island isn't a choice between colleges, since CCRI is the only one, but a choice about how to take the only one. The program runs fully online as well as on campus in Warwick, so the first decision is format. The second is whether to sign the Joint Admissions Agreement paperwork before you reach 30 credits, which turns a $5,326 associate degree into a guaranteed 60 credits toward a bachelor's at Rhode Island College or URI.
Ask CCRI which of its transfer tracks the JAA covers for general studies and for the bachelor's you have in mind, and what support it offers students past the first year, because a 26% graduation rate means most students who start full-time don't finish on time. If you're an adult returning, ask a Rhode Island Reconnect navigator what tuition help applies before you register. And if a general studies bachelor's rather than an associate is the end goal, the state's three bachelor's programs are all private and small, so weigh the JAA route to RIC or URI against them.
If you plan to finish a bachelor's in the state, the general studies bachelor's degrees in Rhode Island have their own page.