Source: IPEDS, as of September 29, 2026. Cost is resident tuition plus required fees, 2023-24.
Associate Degrees in West Virginia
10
Meet the Ranking Threshold
8
Median Resident Tuition and Fees
$5,051
With a Fully Online Option
5
General Studies Associate Degrees in West Virginia
General studies associate degrees in West Virginia pit one for-profit online university against seven public colleges, and the for-profit comes out ahead on score, size and completion. American Public University System in Charles Town has the highest score in the state at this level, 74.9, 21st nationally on our list, on 1,444 degrees a year, a 57% graduation rate and $8,400 in tuition and fees, the highest price on the list. Eight programs are ranked, and 2 more, Eastern West Virginia and Mountwest, appear in the table of other programs.
Pierpont Community and Technical College in Fairmont is the strongest public program: 436 degrees, a 42% graduation rate and $5,594 in resident tuition and fees, for a score of 69.4 and 47th place nationally. Blue Ridge Community and Technical College in Martinsburg is third at 55.6 on a 32% graduation rate and $4,344, the lowest tuition and fees on the list. After those three the scores fall quickly: West Virginia Northern in Wheeling ($4,544, 33%), New River in Beaver ($5,158, 36%) and BridgeValley in South Charleston ($5,282, 34%) each award 24 to 30 degrees a year.
At the bottom, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College graduates 29% on 15 degrees, and West Virginia University at Parkersburg graduates 9%, the lowest rate here, at $5,248. Graduation rates run from 57% to 9% across the eight, and tuition and fees from $4,344 to $8,400. Four of the eight ranked programs are online: APUS, New River, BridgeValley and WVU Parkersburg.
The 8 Best General Studies Associate Degrees in West Virginia
The best general studies associate degrees in West Virginia are ranked below by their national score, from the national associate degree ranking. The number on each card is the program's place in West Virginia. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.
1
American Public University System
Associate of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies
West Virginia
74.9- Private for-profit
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 57%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $8,400 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 1,444
About the Program
Thirty elective credits sit beside 30 semester hours of general education in the 60-hour Associate of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies. You can use the 30 elective credits to build your own specialization or to sample broader interests, but the electives must be lower-division courses at the 100 to 200 level that you haven't already used. Additional general education courses can count as electives too.
Online is the format, with courses starting monthly and running from 8 to 16 weeks, so a start date is never far off. Inside general education, the communication block asks for 9 semester hours of writing, oral and multimedia courses. The catalog also says completing it can serve as a springboard to a baccalaureate degree.
Finishing a degree you started elsewhere is one use the university names for this degree. You can transfer up to 45 credits into the 60 semester hours, and the university positions the degree for people who want to apply previous college credits or work experience toward an associate degree. So if you arrive with credits already earned, up to 45 of the 60 hours may already be behind you, depending on what transfers.
Cost is charged per credit, currently $360 per credit, $250 at the preferred military rate, or $324 with a Veteran Grant or Opportunity Grant. But read the note that comes with those figures, because the degree is not eligible for federal student aid. That means you'd be paying by other means, so work out the per-credit total for the credits you still need before you apply.
2
Pierpont Community and Technical College
West Virginia
69.4- Public
- College graduation rate
- 42%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $5,594 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 436
About the Program
Based in Fairmont, West Virginia, Pierpont Community and Technical College is a public community college with 1,938 students on its rolls. During the most recent year on record it awarded 436 associate's degrees, a count at the 88th percentile for size. Across the whole college, 42% of students finish, which is a higher rate than 70% of the institutions behind this list. Tuition and fees are $5,594 a year for residents and $13,262 for students from out of state, which makes it cheaper than 52% of programs at this level. What lifts it most is the number of degrees it awards, where it reaches the 88th percentile.
3
Blue Ridge Community and Technical College
West Virginia
55.6- Public
- College graduation rate
- 32%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $4,344 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 97
About the Program
Blue Ridge Community and Technical College is a public community college in Martinsburg, West Virginia that enrolls 4,203 students. Some 97 associate's degrees were conferred in the last year on record, a bigger output than 58% of the programs ranked alongside it. A 32% graduation rate puts the college at the 41st percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Expect tuition and fees of $4,344 a year as a resident and $7,848 otherwise. Its strongest mark is price, at the 75th percentile.
4
West Virginia Northern Community College
West Virginia
47.5- Public
- College graduation rate
- 33%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $4,544 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 25
About the Program
Some 1,525 students attend West Virginia Northern Community College, a public community college in Wheeling, West Virginia. The program's last federal report shows 25 associate's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 21 in every 100 programs measured here. A 33% graduation rate puts the college at the 45th percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Tuition and fees are $4,544 a year for residents and $12,728 for students from out of state, which makes it cheaper than 72% of programs at this level. Its strongest mark is price, at the 72nd percentile.
5
New River Community and Technical College
West Virginia
46.3- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 36%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $5,158 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 24
About the Program
Beaver, West Virginia is home to New River Community and Technical College, a public community college of 1,571 students. The program's last federal report shows 24 associate's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 20 in every 100 programs measured here. Its college-wide graduation rate is 36%, the 53rd percentile, because the federal record tracks completion by institution. Residents pay $5,158 a year in tuition and fees, while out-of-state students pay $8,140. Because the full degree is offered online, it is open to students well outside the region. Strongest of its measures is price, which lands at the 57th percentile.
6
BridgeValley Community & Technical College
West Virginia
44.7- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 34%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $5,282 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 30
About the Program
South Charleston, West Virginia is home to BridgeValley Community & Technical College, a public community college of 1,927 students. It conferred 30 associate's degrees in the latest reported year, which is more than 26% of the associate's programs ranked at this level. A 34% graduation rate puts the college at the 48th percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Tuition and fees are $5,282 a year for residents and $11,748 for students from out of state, which makes it cheaper than 55% of programs at this level. The degree can be finished entirely online, which suits anyone who cannot move or stop working. What lifts it most is price, where it reaches the 55th percentile.
7
Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College
West Virginia
34.6- Public
- College graduation rate
- 29%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $4,944 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 15
About the Program
Some 1,482 students attend Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, a public community college in Logan, West Virginia. It conferred 15 associate's degrees in the latest reported year, which is more than 10% of the associate's programs ranked at this level. Of the students who start at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, 29% graduate, and that beats 29 in every 100 institutions on this measure. Tuition and fees are $4,944 a year for residents and $7,560 for students from out of state, which makes it cheaper than 63% of programs at this level. Strongest of its measures is price, which lands at the 63rd percentile.
8
West Virginia University at Parkersburg
West Virginia
24.9- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 9%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $5,248 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 40
About the Program
West Virginia University at Parkersburg is a public university in Parkersburg, West Virginia that enrolls 2,728 students. During the most recent year on record it awarded 40 associate's degrees, a count at the 32nd percentile for size. Its college-wide graduation rate is 9%, the 1st percentile, because the federal record tracks completion by institution. Residents pay $5,248 a year in tuition and fees, while out-of-state students pay $9,424. Because the full degree is offered online, it is open to students well outside the region. On price it does best, reaching the 56th percentile.
Other General Studies Associate Degrees in West Virginia
The other general studies associate degrees in West Virginia 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.
| College | Degrees Awarded | Graduation Rate | Tuition and Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College, Moorefield | 9 | 42% | $4,288 |
| Mountwest Community and Technical College, Huntington | 7 | 19% | $4,818 |
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 West Virginia?
A general studies associate degree in West Virginia costs $5,051 a year in resident tuition and required fees at the median of the ten programs, and all nine public colleges sit between $4,288 and $5,594: Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College $4,288, Blue Ridge $4,344, West Virginia Northern $4,544, Mountwest $4,818, Southern West Virginia $4,944, New River $5,158, WVU Parkersburg $5,248, BridgeValley $5,282 and Pierpont $5,594. American Public University System is $8,400, and that price holds for nonresidents, which matters because out-of-state students pay $7,560 at Southern West Virginia and up to $13,262 at Pierpont.
The state grant written for people taking a course or two at a time is HEAPS, the Higher Education Adult Part-Time Student grant, for students with financial need who continue their education part time, where part time means 3 to 11 semester hours and the award at an approved institution is based on the actual cost of tuition and fees. A student taking two classes a semester at Blue Ridge or Pierpont is exactly who it is for. Ask the college's aid office whether it counts as an approved institution and how the award is computed from its published rate.
Will a General Studies Associate Degree Transfer in West Virginia?
Yes, a general studies associate degree transfers in West Virginia, and the state has a transfer agreement named for exactly this coursework, though it moves requirements rather than courses. The General Studies and Course Equivalency Transfer Agreement lets you move up to 35 credit hours of general studies coursework between West Virginia institutions, with a course list revised in July 2024. The fine print is that those credits are not treated as direct course equivalents, but as credit for fulfilling general studies requirements. So a humanities course from Pierpont fills a humanities slot at Fairmont State or Marshall, not a specific prerequisite.
Course-by-course transfer runs on a different rule: state code section 18B-14-2 requires courses that are 70 percent similar or the same to transfer as equivalent courses between West Virginia institutions. Ask the receiving university which of your courses fall under the 35-hour agreement and which it will match as equivalents. APUS is a private for-profit university, so ask it which public universities have taken its Associate of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in full.
If you leave for a university before finishing, the Higher Education Policy Commission adopted a statewide reverse transfer policy in May 2015 in which every public institution participates. That announcement is from 2015, so confirm the current process with your community college's registrar.
What Do Jobs With a General Studies Associate Degree Pay in West Virginia?
Jobs open to a general studies associate degree in West Virginia 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 West Virginia
Choosing a general studies associate degree program in West Virginia means weighing one expensive program that finishes students against several cheaper ones that mostly don't. APUS graduates 57% at $8,400 and is online. Pierpont graduates 42% at $5,594 on campus. Every other public program graduates between 9% and 36%, and the online public options are New River at 36%, BridgeValley at 34% and WVU Parkersburg at 9%. Blue Ridge's $4,344 is the lowest price on the list, and it comes with a 32% graduation rate.
If you plan to continue to a bachelor's, West Virginia's General Studies and Course Equivalency Transfer Agreement moves up to 35 credit hours of general studies coursework between the state's institutions, so ask the two-year college which of its general studies courses are on that list and which count only as electives. At APUS, a for-profit school, ask which West Virginia public universities have accepted its Associate of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in full, and get the answer in writing. And at any college here, ask how many of last year's general studies graduates transferred to a four-year school.
If you plan to finish a bachelor's in the state, the general studies bachelor's degrees in West Virginia have their own page.
Common Questions About General Studies Associate Degrees in West Virginia
What Is the Cheapest General Studies Associate Degree in West Virginia?
Which West Virginia General Studies Associate Program Has the Highest Graduation Rate?
Can You Finish a General Studies Associate Degree Online in West Virginia?
Can a Part-Time Student Use the HEAPS Grant for a General Studies Associate Degree in West Virginia?
Why Does American Public University System Rank First Among West Virginia General Studies Associate Degrees?
Where Do the Figures on This West Virginia Page Come From?
- The General Studies and Course Equivalency Transfer Agreement
- W.Va. Higher Education Policy Commission adopts reverse transfer policy aimed at advancing degree completion
- Title 133 Legislative Rule, Series 6: Higher Education Adult Part-Time Student (HEAPS) Grant Program (effective March 29, 2024)
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, state estimates