Source: IPEDS, as of September 29, 2026. Cost is resident tuition plus required fees, 2023-24.
Bachelor's Degrees in Idaho
4
Meet the Ranking Threshold
3
Median Resident Tuition and Fees
$8,586
With a Fully Online Option
2
General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Idaho
General studies bachelor's degrees in Idaho are four programs, three of them at universities that also award the general studies associate, and the two with the highest scores are the two you can finish online. Brigham Young University-Idaho's Interdisciplinary Studies B.I.S. in Rexburg has the highest score in the state at this level, 76.2, eighth on the national bachelor's list, on a 55% graduation rate, 65 degrees a year and $4,656 in tuition and fees, a price that doesn't change for nonresidents. The University of Idaho's Bachelor of General Studies in Moscow scores 64.4, 38th nationally, with a 57% graduation rate, 35 degrees and $8,816. Both are online.
Idaho State University in Pocatello is the campus option among the ranked three, scoring 51.4, 76th nationally, on a 39% graduation rate, 66 degrees, the most at this level in the state, and $8,356. Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa awarded 8 degrees, under the ranking threshold, and sits in the table of other programs with a 71% graduation rate at $40,895.
Two of the four are public, and the private pair could hardly be more different: BYU-Idaho is the cheapest program on the page and Northwest Nazarene is nearly nine times its price. Idaho State awards more degrees than the University of Idaho and BYU-Idaho put together at this level, which is the opposite of the associate level, where BYU-Idaho's 866 dwarfs everyone.
The 3 Best General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Idaho
The best general studies bachelor's degrees in Idaho 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 Idaho. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.
1
Brigham Young University-Idaho
Interdisciplinary Studies (B.I.S.)
Idaho
76.2- Private nonprofit
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 55%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $4,656 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 65
About the Program
Building your own degree is the premise here, and you do it by choosing from three different categories: science, technology, engineering and math, arts and humanities, and social sciences and business. Because you draw from the categories instead of concentrating on one main area, you finish with skills in several areas. That suits you if your interests cross those lines, but it means you won't concentrate on one main area.
Interdisciplinary study has courses of its own in this major, which include an introduction to interdisciplinary studies and a course on interdisciplinary innovation. You also gain experience using AI tools matched to your chosen areas of study, for research and for professional productivity, so the tools you practice with depend on the areas you choose.
2
University of Idaho
Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.)
Idaho
64.4- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 57%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $8,816 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 35
About the Program
Breadth is written into the rules of the Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.). Your credits are capped at 36 credits in any one discipline, so you can't turn the degree into a major under another name. Apart from the general university requirements, no specific subjects are required, which leaves you and a faculty advisor to plan a custom curriculum across the sciences and humanities.
What appears on your diploma is General Studies, because no other major will be certified on the diploma or official transcript. But you can complete one or more minors, and your transcript will reflect these minors, so a minor is the way to put a named subject on your record. The one named required course is a 1-credit course in career and leadership development.
Holding a bachelor's degree already rules you out of the B.G.S., and so does being a candidate for another degree at the university. The catalog also advises you not to make a firm decision about the B.G.S. before the end of the freshman year. For guidance on designing your program, the contact is the director of general studies.
If you're coming back with college credits but no degree, the general studies page points you to Vandal Finish. The B.G.S. is offered online as well as in person. Whatever credits you bring, the degree totals 120 credits and a minimum of 45 upper-division credits, which means lower-level credits alone won't complete it.
3
Idaho State University
Idaho
51.4- Public
- College graduation rate
- 39%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $8,356 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 66
About the Program
Some 13,061 students attend Idaho State University, a public university in Pocatello, Idaho. The program's last federal report shows 66 bachelor's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 67 in every 100 programs measured here. Of the students who start at Idaho State University, 39% graduate, and that beats 23 in every 100 institutions on this measure. Tuition and fees are $8,356 a year for residents and $27,466 for students from out of state, which makes it cheaper than 81% of programs at this level. What lifts it most is price, where it reaches the 81st percentile.
Other General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Idaho
The other general studies bachelor's degrees in Idaho 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa | 8 | 71% | $40,895 |
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 Idaho?
A general studies bachelor's degree in Idaho costs $8,586 a year in resident tuition and required fees at the median of the four programs, which puts the median between the two public universities: Idaho State at $8,356 and the University of Idaho at $8,816. BYU-Idaho is $4,656 and Northwest Nazarene University $40,895. Out of state, the public prices jump to $27,466 at Idaho State and $29,784 at Idaho, so a nonresident finishing online pays less than a fifth as much at BYU-Idaho, whose $4,656 applies to everyone.
For a returning adult, the state grant written for this situation is the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship's Adult Learner track, which is for students who have earned 24 or more transferable credits from an accredited institution. That threshold is a single year of college, so almost anyone coming back to finish a bachelor's clears it. You need a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher, and if you can only manage 6 to 8 credits a term, the award is half the maximum rather than nothing. Against Idaho's $8,816 or Idaho State's $8,356, ask the aid office what the maximum is this year before you decide between full-time and part-time enrollment.
How Does Credit Transfer Into a General Studies Bachelor's Degree in Idaho?
Credit transfers into a general studies bachelor's degree in Idaho under State Board Policy III.V, which binds the University of Idaho and Idaho State and spells out what arrives with you: an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science brings general education complete, the 36-credit framework does the same without the degree, and single GEM courses count toward their competency. The policy applies to the University of Idaho, Boise State, Idaho State, Lewis-Clark State, College of Eastern Idaho, College of Southern Idaho, College of Western Idaho and North Idaho College, and the general education clause reads broadly: an A.A. or A.S. from an institutionally accredited institution satisfies the general education requirement on transfer to a public institution in Idaho, which covers a degree from any of the four community colleges.
Short of a degree, the 36-credit General Education Framework clears general education at the receiving institution, and GEM courses you did finish are applied to the matching competency. Policy III.N requires at least 31 of the framework's credits to fit the GEM competency areas. Holders of an Associate of Applied Science have a separate door: Board policy lets them pursue an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Applied Science or Bachelor of Applied Technology, so ask whether an A.A.S. maps better there. BYU-Idaho and Northwest Nazarene are private and set their own transfer terms.
What Do Jobs With a General Studies Bachelor's Degree Pay in Idaho?
Jobs open to a general studies bachelor's degree in Idaho 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 Idaho
To choose a general studies bachelor's degree program in Idaho, decide first whether you'll study online, because that splits the list in two: BYU-Idaho and the University of Idaho online, Idaho State and Northwest Nazarene on campus. Between the online pair, BYU-Idaho costs $4,656 and graduates 55%, Idaho costs $8,816 and graduates 57%, so the public university charges nearly twice as much for two more points of completion, and in exchange sits inside the State Board's transfer policy. Idaho State's 39% graduation rate is the lowest here, at $8,356, but it awards the most degrees at this level.
Ask each university what the degree is called and what it requires, since Idaho awards a Bachelor of General Studies and BYU-Idaho a B.I.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies, and the names signal different structures. Ask how many of your GEM courses or your associate degree's credits land in the major rather than as electives, how many credits must be taken in residence, and whether the Opportunity Scholarship's Adult Learner award is on the table for the credit load you can carry. At Northwest Nazarene, with 8 graduates a year, ask how many students are in the program now.
If you're starting with an associate degree, the general studies associate degrees in Idaho have their own page.