Source: IPEDS, as of September 29, 2026. Cost is resident tuition plus required fees, 2023-24.
Bachelor's Degrees in Alabama
6
Meet the Ranking Threshold
4
Median Resident Tuition and Fees
$16,615
With a Fully Online Option
1
General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Alabama
General studies bachelor's degrees in Alabama are six programs at six universities, and only two of them are public. The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Alabama A&M University in Normal are the public pair, and the four private colleges are Oakwood University in Huntsville, Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, and Spring Hill College and the University of Mobile, both in Mobile. Four of the six meet the ranking threshold. Spring Hill and the University of Mobile each awarded 3 degrees in the latest year and appear in the table of other programs.
UAB's Bachelor of General Studies is the program to measure the rest against. It scores 76.8, sixth on the national bachelor's list, on a 64% graduation rate, 79 degrees a year and $8,832 in resident tuition and fees, the lowest price at this level in the state. The gap behind it is wide. Alabama A&M and Oakwood both score 28.3, at 146th and 147th nationally, but for different reasons: A&M graduates 24% at $10,024 on 39 degrees, while Oakwood graduates 45% at $21,838 on 18. Stillman scores 20.1 with a 25% graduation rate at $11,392.
Nothing on the ranked list is online. The one online general studies bachelor's degree in Alabama is the University of Mobile's, at $26,120 with a 57% graduation rate, and it awarded 3 degrees.
The 4 Best General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Alabama
The best general studies bachelor's degrees in Alabama are ranked below by their national score, from the national bachelor's degree ranking. The number on each card is the program's place in Alabama. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.
1
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Bachelor of General Studies
Alabama
76.8- Public
- College graduation rate
- 64%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $8,832 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 79
About the Program
Two minors make the major. You choose any 2 UAB minors from a list of over 80, and together they come to an estimated 36 to 51 hours, with each minor at least 18. A single course can't count toward both minors, so picking two closely related fields won't shorten the work. What you get is a degree built from two complete minors, each earned in full.
If you take the General Studies Capstone, it has to be in your senior year, not before. The capstone is a 1-credit course where you develop a portfolio and reflect on your academic accomplishments. You can also take a professional internship course worth 1 to 3 hours. Teaching is delivered largely through on-campus, in-person meetings, so plan to be there.
You work with an assigned BGS advisor to select the two minors. Credit from elsewhere has a limit built in, because you must complete 9 hours at the 400 level or above taken at UAB and meet residency requirements. Whatever you bring with you, some of your upper-level work is done at UAB.
Some graduates of this degree have gone on to graduate and professional school. The catalog says BGS graduates with high GPAs have been successful in meeting their professional school goals, including graduate school. So if that's where you're headed, keep your GPA in mind from the start.
2
Alabama A & M University
Alabama
28.3- Public
- HBCU
- College graduation rate
- 24%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $10,024 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 39
About the Program
Alabama A & M University is a historically Black public university in Normal, Alabama that enrolls 7,295 students. Some 39 bachelor's degrees were conferred in the last year on record, a bigger output than 51% of the programs ranked alongside it. A 24% graduation rate puts the college at the 3rd percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Tuition and fees run $10,024 a year in state against $18,634 out of state, so on price it sits at the 47th percentile. Getting in is not automatic, because 58% of applicants are admitted. What lifts it most is the number of degrees it awards, where it reaches the 51st percentile.
3
Oakwood University
Alabama
28.3- Private nonprofit
- HBCU
- College graduation rate
- 45%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $21,838 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 18
About the Program
Based in Huntsville, Alabama, Oakwood University is a historically Black private nonprofit university with 1,226 students on its rolls. Some 18 bachelor's degrees were conferred in the last year on record, a bigger output than 22% of the programs ranked alongside it. Across the whole college, 45% of students finish, which is a higher rate than 37% of the institutions behind this list. Tuition and fees hold at $21,838 a year whichever state you come from. Admission is selective enough to plan for, with 45% of applicants accepted. Its strongest mark is the graduation rate of its college, at the 37th percentile.
4
Stillman College
Alabama
20.1- Private nonprofit
- HBCU
- College graduation rate
- 25%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $11,392 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 20
About the Program
Stillman College is a historically Black private nonprofit college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama that enrolls 731 students. The program's last federal report shows 20 bachelor's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 27 in every 100 programs measured here. A 25% graduation rate puts the college at the 4th percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Tuition and fees are $11,392 a year for every student, residents and nonresidents alike. Admission is selective enough to plan for, with 62% of applicants accepted. On price it does best, reaching the 38th percentile.
Other General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Alabama
The other general studies bachelor's degrees in Alabama 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Mobile, Mobile | 3 | 57% | $26,120 |
| Spring Hill College, Mobile | 3 | 52% | $23,270 |
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 Bachelor's Degree Cost in Alabama?
A general studies bachelor's degree in Alabama costs $16,615 a year in resident tuition and required fees at the median of the six programs, and that median lands between two very different groups. The public universities are the floor: UAB charges $8,832 and Alabama A&M $10,024. Stillman College, a private college, is close behind at $11,392. Then the price roughly doubles. Oakwood University is $21,838, Spring Hill College $23,270 and the University of Mobile $26,120. Nonresidents at the two public universities pay $21,864 at UAB and $18,634 at A&M, which puts them in the private range.
The Alabama Student Assistance Program is a need-based state grant of $300 to $5,000 a year for undergraduate Alabama residents at eligible Alabama institutions, and a bachelor's student qualifies on the same terms as a community college student. At UAB's price the top award covers more than half the year. At Oakwood or Spring Hill it covers less than a quarter, so ask the private colleges what institutional aid they add on top, and confirm with each one that it counts as an eligible institution for ASAP.
How Does Credit Transfer Into a General Studies Bachelor's Degree in Alabama?
Credit transfers into a general studies bachelor's degree in Alabama through an Alabama Transfers guide when you're headed to UAB or Alabama A&M, and through each college's own rules when you're headed to one of the four private programs. The public side runs on a law. The Legislature created the Articulation and General Studies Committee in 1994 under Act 94-202 to govern transfer among public colleges and universities, and that committee's general studies core of 41 to 42 semester hours is what a community college student completes before arriving. If you printed a guide for your major while at the two-year college, UAB or A&M must honor it: the agreement guarantees the listed coursework will transfer, and the guide holds for four years from the date you printed it.
Two things the guide won't do. It doesn't guarantee you a seat at the university or in the major, so apply to UAB's Bachelor of General Studies on its own terms. And it stops at the public line: transfer to the private colleges is not governed by AGSC policy, which covers Oakwood, Stillman, Spring Hill and the University of Mobile here. For those four, ask the registrar for a course-by-course evaluation in writing before you enroll, and ask how many of your credits count toward the general studies major rather than as electives.
What Do Jobs With a General Studies Bachelor's Degree Pay in Alabama?
Jobs open to a general studies bachelor's degree in Alabama 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 Bachelor's Degree Program in Alabama
To choose a general studies bachelor's degree program in Alabama, start with UAB and work out what would pull you away from it, because it is both the cheapest program at this level and the one that graduates the largest share of its students. The trade the other ranked programs offer is completion against price. Oakwood graduates 45%, nearly double Alabama A&M's 24% and Stillman's 25%, but costs $21,838 against $10,024 and $11,392. A&M is public, in Normal, and Stillman is a small private college in Tuscaloosa, so for many students the choice between those two is a choice of city.
Online study narrows the field to one. Only the University of Mobile offers the degree online, at $26,120, and it awarded 3 degrees in the latest year, so ask how many students are in the online cohort and who teaches it. Ask every program what the degree is called on the diploma, since UAB's is a Bachelor of General Studies, how many of your transferred credits apply to the major, and, at the private colleges, what grant aid brings the price nearer the public figure.
If you're starting with an associate degree, the general studies associate degrees in Alabama have their own page.