Source: IPEDS, as of September 29, 2026. Cost is resident tuition plus required fees, 2023-24.
Bachelor's Degrees in Georgia
9
Meet the Ranking Threshold
4
Median Resident Tuition and Fees
$15,036
With a Fully Online Option
4
General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Georgia
General studies bachelor's degrees in Georgia hold the second-ranked program in the country, Georgia Southern University's Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies, and eight others that run from a $4,980 public program in Americus to a $34,540 private one in LaGrange. The nine programs sit at nine colleges, three public and six private nonprofit, and four meet the ranking threshold. Georgia Southern in Statesboro scores 80.2 on 134 degrees a year, a 55% graduation rate and $5,905 in resident tuition and required fees, with the degree available online. A large public program at a low resident price with the best completion among the ranked four is what puts it at No. 2.
The University of North Georgia in Dahlonega is the other ranked public, at 56 and 59th nationally: 83 degrees a year, $5,211 for residents, a 37% graduation rate and a campus-only degree. Life University in Marietta scores 30.3 on 41 degrees, $15,036 and 38% completion, online, and Morris Brown College in Atlanta scores 19.3 on 11 degrees, $9,558 and a 25% rate.
Five more programs awarded 3 to 6 degrees each. Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus is the cheapest bachelor's at this level, $4,980 for residents with a 41% graduation rate, but awarded only 3 degrees. Brenau University ($33,275), Brewton-Parker College ($22,080), LaGrange College ($34,540) and Piedmont University ($30,680) are private, and LaGrange and Piedmont post the highest graduation rates of the nine, 47%, on three degrees each.
The 4 Best General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Georgia
The best general studies bachelor's degrees in Georgia 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 Georgia. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.
1
Georgia Southern University
Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (B.I.S.)
Georgia
80.2- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 55%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $5,905 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 134
About the Program
Your major here is one concentration of 21 upper-division credit hours picked from an approved list, which is a small major inside a 123-hour degree. On top of that you pick 34 hours of general electives, which you can put toward one or two optional minors or an additional concentration. The catch is that you can't pick a minor in your concentration's field, so a minor adds a second field instead of doubling down on one.
Two courses in the major carry 1 credit hour each, which are an introduction to interdisciplinary studies and a capstone in interdisciplinary studies. The catalog also sets an experiential learning or research requirement, so you must select at least 3 credit hours from its list of choices. General requirements, called Core IMPACTS, take up 42 credit hours of the degree.
Credits you've already earned count if they meet the requirements for a concentration or minor, so the question isn't how many hours you bring but where they fit. The college's own advice is to talk to a BIS or OLBIS advisor. Watch the level of your electives too, because 14 of those elective hours have to be at the 3000 to 5999 level to reach the 39 upper-division hours a bachelor's degree needs.
Teaching is one named route out of this degree. The BIS to M.A.T. concentration is designed for people who plan to earn a Master of Arts in Teaching afterward and become certified teachers, so decide early if the classroom is where you're headed. For everyone else, the college lists employers of its BIS graduates, including State Farm, the U.S. Army, Fidelity Investments and Augusta University.
2
University of North Georgia
Georgia
56.0- Public
- College graduation rate
- 37%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $5,211 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 83
About the Program
Based in Dahlonega, Georgia, University of North Georgia is a public university with 19,291 students on its rolls. It conferred 83 bachelor's degrees in the latest reported year, which is more than 73% of the bachelor's programs ranked at this level. A 37% graduation rate puts the college at the 18th percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Tuition and fees are $5,211 a year for residents and $15,967 for students from out of state, which makes it cheaper than 98% of programs at this level. Applicants are admitted at a rate of 68%, which leaves room for a rejection. On price it does best, reaching the 98th percentile.
3
Life University
Georgia
30.3- Private nonprofit
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 38%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $15,036 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 41
About the Program
Life University is a private nonprofit university in Marietta, Georgia that enrolls 2,714 students. Some 41 bachelor's degrees were conferred in the last year on record, a bigger output than 53% of the programs ranked alongside it. Its college-wide graduation rate is 38%, the 20th percentile, because the federal record tracks completion by institution. Every student pays $15,036 a year in tuition and fees, since the institution sets one rate. The degree can be finished entirely online, which suits anyone who cannot move or stop working. Getting in is not automatic, because 93% of applicants are admitted. What lifts it most is the number of degrees it awards, where it reaches the 53rd percentile.
4
Morris Brown College
Georgia
19.3- Private nonprofit
- HBCU
- College graduation rate
- 25%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $9,558 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 11
About the Program
Morris Brown College is a historically Black private nonprofit college in Atlanta, Georgia that enrolls 432 students. The program's last federal report shows 11 bachelor's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 3 in every 100 programs measured here. Of the students who start at Morris Brown College, 25% graduate, and that beats 4 in every 100 institutions on this measure. Tuition and fees are $9,558 a year for every student, residents and nonresidents alike. Its strongest mark is price, at the 55th percentile.
Other General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Georgia
The other general studies bachelor's degrees in Georgia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brenau University, Gainesville | 6 | 33% | $33,275 |
| Brewton-Parker College, Mount Vernon | 6 | 21% | $22,080 |
| Georgia Southwestern State University, Americus | 3 | 41% | $4,980 |
| LaGrange College, Lagrange | 3 | 47% | $34,540 |
| Piedmont University, Demorest | 3 | 47% | $30,680 |
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 Georgia?
A general studies bachelor's degree in Georgia costs a median of $15,036 a year in tuition and required fees for 2023-24 across the nine programs, with the three public universities under $6,000 for residents and five of the six private colleges above $22,000. Georgia Southwestern State lists $4,980, the University of North Georgia $5,211 and Georgia Southern $5,905. Morris Brown College, at $9,558, is the one private program under $15,000. Then come Life University at $15,036, Brewton-Parker at $22,080, Piedmont at $30,680, Brenau at $33,275 and LaGrange at $34,540. Out-of-state students pay $16,959 at Georgia Southern, $15,967 at UNG and $15,702 at Georgia Southwestern, about three times the resident figure.
The HOPE Scholarship fits a bachelor's student who didn't qualify from high school. The Georgia Student Finance Commission says HOPE may be gained as a college student, with eligibility checked after 30 semester or 45 quarter attempted hours and a 3.0 HOPE GPA, and checked again at 60 semester hours. On a four-year degree those checkpoints land near the end of the first and second years. A transfer student with an associate degree has passed both already, so ask the financial aid office how it reads prior hours.
How Does Credit Transfer Into a General Studies Bachelor's Degree in Georgia?
Credit transfers into a general studies bachelor's degree in Georgia through Core IMPACTS at the three public universities, Georgia Southern, the University of North Georgia and Georgia Southwestern State, and through each college's own rules at the six private ones. Core IMPACTS is USG's general education curriculum, 42 hours of coursework across seven domains, and USG's rule is that courses taken to fulfill it transfer from one USG institution to another even if the courses are not the same. So general education you finished at any USG campus arrives at Georgia Southern or UNG as finished general education, and a large block of the degree is settled early.
If some of your credits come from a technical college, the Board of Regents and the Technical College System of Georgia have articulation agreements under BOR Policy 3.3.5, and USG and TCSG institutions accept the approved general education courses listed on the USG/TCSG Course Transfer Chart. Check the chart course by course.
At Life University, Morris Brown, Brenau, Brewton-Parker, LaGrange and Piedmont, Core IMPACTS doesn't bind the evaluation. Ask each for a written credit evaluation before you enroll, and ask how it treats a completed USG core. Georgia Southern's Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies is the program most transfer students will be weighing, so ask how many hours beyond Core IMPACTS it takes from your previous college.
What Do Jobs With a General Studies Bachelor's Degree Pay in Georgia?
Jobs open to a general studies bachelor's degree in Georgia 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 Georgia
To choose a general studies bachelor's degree program in Georgia, start with Georgia Southern and the University of North Georgia, because they cost residents within $700 of each other and differ sharply on everything else. Georgia Southern graduates 55% to UNG's 37%, awards 134 degrees a year to 83, and teaches its Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies online, while UNG is campus-based in Dahlonega. If completion odds and flexibility both matter to you, the data points one way. If you want a campus and Dahlonega is within reach, UNG costs $694 less a year.
The private programs ask you to pay $9,558 to $34,540 for degrees awarded to 3 to 41 students a year, and only LaGrange and Piedmont, at 47%, graduate a higher share than UNG. Four programs are online: Georgia Southern, Life University, Brenau and Brewton-Parker. Ask any of these colleges three things: how it reads a completed Core IMPACTS core, what its graduation rate is for transfer students rather than first-time freshmen, and whether the diploma will say interdisciplinary studies or general studies, since Georgia Southern calls its degree a B.I.S. and the federal data files both names under general studies.
If you're starting with an associate degree, the general studies associate degrees in Georgia have their own page.