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

General Studies Associate Degrees in Wisconsin

General studies associate degrees in Wisconsin have a single home, Alverno College in Milwaukee, a private nonprofit college whose program awarded 4 degrees in the latest year, below the national threshold of 10, so it's ranked within Wisconsin on the national formula rather than on the national list. It scores 37.9, carried by a 49% graduation rate in the 83rd percentile of the national pool and held back by a price in the 2nd. There's no general studies associate at any University of Wisconsin campus or Wisconsin technical college, which matters because the state's transfer guarantees are built for those two public systems and not for a private college.

That price is $32,794 a year in tuition and required fees for 2023-24, the same for residents and non-residents, and the 49% is the college's graduation rate for first-time, full-time students. The program is taught on campus. With 4 graduates a year, you'd be in a cohort you can count on one hand, inside a college that mostly awards other degrees.

The jobs this degree points toward pay close to the national rate in Wisconsin. Social and human service assistants earn a median of $47,500 against $45,930 nationally, and paralegals $58,500 against $62,890. The rest of this page covers what the degree costs and which aid reaches it, how the 72-credit rule works and where Alverno stands outside it, and what to ask the college before you commit.

The Best General Studies Associate Degree in Wisconsin

The general studies associate degrees in Wisconsin are ranked below within the state. Each awarded fewer than the 10 degrees a year the national associate degree ranking requires, so none is on the national list, but each is scored on the same formula and against the same national programs, so a score here means what it means there. The number on each card is the program's place in Wisconsin.

1. 1

   Alverno College

   Wisconsin

   37.9

   • Private nonprofit

   College graduation rate

   49%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $32,794 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   4

   • College graduation rate percentile 83 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 2 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 1 / 100

   About the Program

   Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Alverno College is a private nonprofit college with 1,317 students on its rolls. During the most recent year on record it awarded 4 associate's degrees, a count at the 1st percentile for size. Across the whole college, 49% of students finish, which is a higher rate than 83% of the institutions behind this list. Residents and nonresidents are both charged $32,794 a year in tuition and fees. Applicants are admitted at a rate of 86%, which leaves room for a rejection. On the graduation rate of its college it does best, reaching the 83rd percentile.

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

A general studies associate degree in Wisconsin costs $32,794 a year in tuition and required fees for 2023-24 at Alverno College, the state's one program at this level, so the median and the range are the same number. There's no resident discount at a private college, and the published figure leaves out housing in Milwaukee and books. The number to ask Alverno for is the net price its associate students pay after the college's own aid, because at a private college that can sit far below the list price.

The state's need-based grant is the Wisconsin Grant, which goes to undergraduate, Wisconsin residents enrolled in degree or certificate programs at University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Technical College, and Tribal institutions, and it lets recipients enroll at least part-time (including less than half-time). Alverno is private and outside those three systems, so the Wisconsin Grant as the Higher Educational Aids Board describes it doesn't follow a student there. Ask Alverno's aid office which state programs it does take part in, and what the college's own aid does to the $32,794.

Will a General Studies Associate Degree Transfer in Wisconsin?

A general studies associate degree from Alverno College transfers in Wisconsin on the receiving university's own evaluation, because every statewide guarantee in the state is written between the two public systems. On November 21, 2019, the State of Wisconsin 72-Credit Transfer Rule, became law. It requires the Universities of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Technical College System to keep an agreement that identifies an array of not less than 72 credits of core general education courses and establishes policies for ensuring that, beginning in the 2022-23 academic year, credits for completing the courses are transferable and would satisfy general education requirements at the receiving institution. The current agreement is effective October 1, 2024, and will be reviewed and renewed every three years.

For a two-year student inside those systems, UW policy goes further. UW universities shall consider transfer students holding such an associate's degree to have satisfied the university-wide general education/breadth requirements of the receiving university, and reverse transfer is intended for students who transfer from a WTCS Liberal Arts program to a UW university without completing the associate's degree. None of that binds a transfer from Alverno. Ask the UW campus you're headed to for a written course-by-course evaluation, and ask Alverno how UW campuses have treated its general studies courses before.

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

Jobs open to a general studies associate degree in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin

Choosing a general studies associate degree program in Wisconsin means deciding whether Alverno College's program is the right fit, because it's the only one in the state, and the alternatives are a liberal arts associate at a Wisconsin technical college or UW campus under a different name, or an online general studies associate from outside the state on the national associate degree ranking. Alverno's case is a private college's small classes and a 49% graduation rate, the factor behind its 37.9 score. The case against is $32,794 a year in tuition and required fees and a program that produced 4 graduates in the latest year.

Ask Alverno three things: what its general studies associate students pay after institutional aid, where its recent graduates went next and how much credit they carried, and whether the degree is meant as a stepping stone to a bachelor's at Alverno itself. If you need to study from home, the program's campus format rules it out, and the online programs in the national ranking are where to look.

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