Best General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Florida, Ranked (2026)

General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Florida

General studies bachelor's degrees in Florida are six programs at six private nonprofit universities, four of them ranked, and one number defines the list: no program at this level charges less than $16,300 a year, and the median is $35,265. The University of Miami in Coral Gables scores highest at 54.9, 63rd on the national bachelor's ranking, because its 84% graduation rate is the highest of any general studies program in the state, enough to carry tuition and fees of $59,926 and a program of 29 graduates.

Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale follows at 48.5 with a 63% graduation rate, 25 graduates and $37,080 in tuition and fees. Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach scores 35.8 on a 55% graduation rate at $37,990. Southeastern University in Lakeland is the one program at this level you can finish online, awarded the most degrees at 40, and scores 30.8 on a 43% graduation rate at $31,732.

Below the threshold, Barry University in Miami awarded 5 degrees at $33,450 with a 38% graduation rate, and Trinity College of Florida awarded 1 at $16,300. Four of the six programs sit along the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach coast, so a campus student outside South Florida is looking at Lakeland or Trinity.

The 4 Best General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Florida

The best general studies bachelor's degrees in Florida 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 Florida. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.

1. 1

   University of Miami

   Florida

   54.9

   • Private nonprofit

   College graduation rate

   84%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $59,926 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   29

   • College graduation rate percentile 98 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 1 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 42 / 100

   About the Program

   Some 19,852 students attend University of Miami, a private nonprofit university in Coral Gables, Florida. It conferred 29 bachelor's degrees in the latest reported year, which is more than 42% of the bachelor's programs ranked at this level. Of the students who start at University of Miami, 84% graduate, and that beats 98 in every 100 institutions on this measure. Every student pays $59,926 a year in tuition and fees, since the institution sets one rate. Getting in is not automatic, because 19% of applicants are admitted. What lifts it most is the graduation rate of its college, where it reaches the 98th percentile.

2. 2

   Nova Southeastern University

   Florida

   48.5

   • Private nonprofit

   College graduation rate

   63%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $37,080 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   25

   • College graduation rate percentile 84 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 6 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 35 / 100

   About the Program

   Nova Southeastern University is a private nonprofit university in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that enrolls 20,910 students. Some 25 bachelor's degrees were conferred in the last year on record, a bigger output than 35% of the programs ranked alongside it. Its college-wide graduation rate is 63%, the 84th percentile, because the federal record tracks completion by institution. Tuition and fees hold at $37,080 a year whichever state you come from. Getting in is not automatic, because 73% of applicants are admitted. On the graduation rate of its college it does best, reaching the 84th percentile.

3. 3

   Palm Beach Atlantic University

   Florida

   35.8

   • Private nonprofit

   College graduation rate

   55%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $37,990 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   17

   • College graduation rate percentile 66 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 5 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 18 / 100

   About the Program

   Palm Beach Atlantic University is a private nonprofit university in West Palm Beach, Florida that enrolls 4,147 students. The program's last federal report shows 17 bachelor's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 18 in every 100 programs measured here. Of the students who start at Palm Beach Atlantic University, 55% graduate, and that beats 66 in every 100 institutions on this measure. Residents and nonresidents are both charged $37,990 a year in tuition and fees. Applicants are admitted at a rate of 82%, which leaves room for a rejection. What lifts it most is the graduation rate of its college, where it reaches the 66th percentile.

4. 4

   Southeastern University

   Florida

   30.8

   • Private nonprofit
   • Fully Online Option

   College graduation rate

   43%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $31,732 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   40

   • College graduation rate percentile 31 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 13 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 52 / 100

   About the Program

   Some 11,510 students attend Southeastern University, a private nonprofit university in Lakeland, Florida. It conferred 40 bachelor's degrees in the latest reported year, which is more than 52% of the bachelor's programs ranked at this level. Its college-wide graduation rate is 43%, the 31st percentile, because the federal record tracks completion by institution. Every student pays $31,732 a year in tuition and fees, since the institution sets one rate. Nothing in the degree requires attending in person, since it is offered fully online. Getting in is not automatic, because 53% of applicants are admitted. What lifts it most is the number of degrees it awards, where it reaches the 52nd percentile.

Other General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Florida

The other general studies bachelor's degrees in Florida 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 Bachelor's Degree Cost in Florida?

A general studies bachelor's degree in Florida costs a median of $35,265 a year in tuition and required fees for 2023-24, and because every program is private, residents and nonresidents pay the same. Trinity College of Florida is lowest at $16,300, then Southeastern University at $31,732, Barry University at $33,450, Nova Southeastern University at $37,080, Palm Beach Atlantic University at $37,990 and the University of Miami at $59,926. The four ranked programs run from $31,732 to $59,926.

The state's grant for undergraduates, the Florida Public Student Assistance Grant, is built around public enrollment: it goes to degree-seeking students taking at least 6 semester hours a term, so half-time students qualify, and pays from $200 up to the maximum set in the General Appropriations Act, based on unmet need. If you did your first two years at a Florida College System college, that grant covered those years. At the six private programs here the aid is institutional, so the published tuition is a ceiling rather than a bill, and the figure to ask each university for is its net price for a transfer student arriving with an associate in arts.

How Does Credit Transfer Into a General Studies Bachelor's Degree in Florida?

Credit transfers into a general studies bachelor's degree in Florida on each university's own policy, because all six programs are private and the state's statutory guarantees run from the Florida College System to the state universities. Those guarantees still shape what you arrive with. Under the statewide articulation agreement, an associate in arts graduate has met all general education requirements and must be admitted to a state university's upper division, with priority over out-of-state students, and each state university must hold at least one 2+2 targeted pathway agreement giving associate in arts graduates who meet set requirements guaranteed access to a degree program.

Two pieces of the law do reach private universities. The statewide course numbering system covers public and participating private institutions, so ask whether Nova Southeastern, Palm Beach Atlantic or Southeastern participates, because if it does, your public-college courses carry numbers its registrar can match. And the associate in arts itself is fixed at no more than 60 semester hours with 36 of general education, which is the block you're asking a private university to honor.

So put two questions to each program in writing: how many of the 60 credits it applies toward the general studies degree rather than open electives, and whether it takes the 36-hour general education block whole.

What Do Jobs With a General Studies Bachelor's Degree Pay in Florida?

Jobs open to a general studies bachelor's degree in Florida 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 Florida

To choose a general studies bachelor's degree program in Florida, put graduation rate next to price, because at this level the two move together and the cheapest ranked option is the one fewest students finish. The University of Miami graduates 84% at $59,926, Nova Southeastern 63% at $37,080, Palm Beach Atlantic 55% at $37,990 and Southeastern 43% at $31,732. Southeastern is the one you can finish online, and its 40 graduates make it the largest at this level, while Miami's 29, Nova's 25 and Palm Beach Atlantic's 17 are programs small enough that you'll know your advisers by name.

Ask each university for a net price, since published tuition and fees come down once institutional aid is applied. Ask how an associate in arts from a Florida College System college maps into the degree, whether you can build a concentration into it, and whether general studies is a major the university actively enrolls or a completion route for students who changed direction late.

If you're starting with an associate degree, the general studies associate degrees in Florida have their own page.