Source: IPEDS, as of September 29, 2026. Cost is resident tuition plus required fees, 2023-24.
Bachelor's Degrees in Louisiana
10
Meet the Ranking Threshold
9
Median Resident Tuition and Fees
$8,417
With a Fully Online Option
7
General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Louisiana
General studies bachelor's degrees in Louisiana have a three-way race at the top. Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond has the highest score in the state at this level, 64.7, 35th nationally on our list, with the University of Louisiana at Monroe at 64.5 and 36th and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette at 63.5 and 41st. Each gets there differently: Southeastern on 223 degrees a year and online delivery at $8,373 in resident tuition and fees, ULM on a 54% graduation rate, the highest here, online at $9,190, and UL Lafayette on 354 degrees, the most in the state, with a 53% graduation rate on campus at $10,418, the highest price on the list.
Nine programs are ranked, all public, and 1 more, the University of Holy Cross in New Orleans, appears in the table of other programs. McNeese State in Lake Charles (62.2, 47%, online) and Northwestern State in Natchitoches (53.8, 43%, online) fill out the top five, so four of the five highest-scoring programs can be finished online. Louisiana State University at Alexandria is the cheapest at $7,050 with a 34% graduation rate, and LSU Shreveport ($7,327, 38%) and Grambling State ($7,683, 36%) sit near it on price.
Southern University at New Orleans is the outlier: $7,490 in tuition and fees, a 13% graduation rate, the lowest here, and 19 degrees a year. Across the nine, tuition and fees run from $7,050 to $10,418 and graduation rates from 13% to 54%. Six of the nine are online.
The 9 Best General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Louisiana
The best general studies bachelor's degrees in Louisiana 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 Louisiana. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.
1
Southeastern Louisiana University
Bachelor of General Studies
Louisiana
64.7- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 45%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $8,373 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 223
About the Program
One major concentration and two minor concentrations form the center of the Bachelor of General Studies. The major concentration is 30 hours from one of the concentration groups numbered 1 to 5, and each minor concentration is 15 hours drawn from a second and a third group, so your coursework has to reach across three groups. Group 3, Applied Sciences, shows the range, because it holds Computer Science, Construction Technology, Horticulture, Child Life, Nursing and Health Systems Management.
Fifteen of the 30 hours in your major concentration must be completed at Southeastern, so transfer credit can cover part of that concentration and no more. Fifteen of the 30 must also be at or above the 3000 level, and the concentration requires a 2.0 degree GPA. Across the whole degree, 36 of the 120 semester hours have to be at or above the 3000 level, which is the number to check your transcript against.
Business coursework has a ceiling. No more than 30 hours of marketing, management, economics, finance, accounting or business courses can be applied to the degree, so a transcript heavy in those subjects won't all count. A major concentration in Group 1 or 2 requires 6 hours of one world language, which can count as elective hours or as part of a concentration. And if you earn a second bachelor's, your major concentration can't contain courses in the same subject as that other degree's major.
Becoming a General Studies major takes a curriculum plan that you create with a faculty advisor in the General Studies Program, so the plan comes before the status. The curriculum includes From College to Employment, a 3-credit course, which puts the move into work inside the degree itself. Eighteen hours of additional courses complete the plan, and the catalog describes them as courses that enhance knowledge and enrich skills.
2
University of Louisiana at Monroe
Bachelor of General Studies
Louisiana
64.5- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 54%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $9,190 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 79
About the Program
You build the Bachelor of General Studies around a 30-hour major concentration group and a 12-hour secondary group, chosen within one of five areas of study. Another 33 hours are electives, which means a large part of the degree is yours to shape. A professional academic advisor for General Studies directs how those electives are arranged, so they can be structured into a minor instead of sitting as loose credits.
Upper-level work makes up a large share of this degree. Of the minimum of 120 semester hours, 45 must be earned at the 3000 or 4000 level, with 15 of them at the 4000 level and 12 inside your major concentration group. So a transcript heavy on introductory courses won't carry you to the finish. If your major concentration falls in Group I, II or III, you'll also need 6 hours of one foreign language.
Business credits are capped. Because of AACSB accreditation rules, no more than 30 semester hours of College of Business Administration credit can count toward the bachelor's, which matters if you're leaving a business major with a pile of those credits. ULM names people who change majors late in their academic careers as one group the degree serves, so check how your earlier credits fall against that cap before you count on them.
ULM lists law school, health professions and other graduate programs among the paths the degree prepares you for. If a health profession interests you, the Applied Sciences group draws on fields including nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, radiologic technology, speech-language pathology and toxicology.
3
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Bachelor of General Studies
Louisiana
63.5- Public
- College graduation rate
- 53%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $10,418 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 354
About the Program
No course in this degree carries a general studies label. You select classes offered to all other students on campus, inside one of five concentrations that University College calls blocks: Applied Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Behavioral Sciences, Business Studies and Natural Sciences. The university counts over 250 different ways to earn the Bachelor of General Studies, which means your transcript evaluation is specific to you.
Online, the degree runs in 8-week or 16-week terms, with starts in January, March, June, August or October, so missing one start date doesn't cost you a year. You get 24/7 online tutoring and a specialized online student resource center while you study. If you're already a UL Lafayette student, University College asks you to make contact in person at Room 104 of DeClouet Hall, the University College main office, to start a transcript evaluation.
Transferring in starts with a transcript evaluation by University College, and it takes three days to three weeks depending on the time in the semester, so send your transcripts well before you hope to start. If you've earned at least 45 credit hours at another university, you can apply to finish the degree online, whatever your previous major.
Pricing for the online degree is per credit. You pay $380 per credit, or $1,140 for a 3-credit course, and no out-of-state fees apply, so where you live doesn't change the bill. What you pay in total depends on how much of the 120-hour curriculum your transfer credit covers, and the transcript evaluation is what settles that.
4
McNeese State University
Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.)
Louisiana
62.2- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 47%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $8,460 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 121
About the Program
Concentrations give the Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.) its shape, and they point in different directions. Arts and Humanities covers art, foreign languages, music, theater and philosophy, while Applied and Natural Sciences takes in ecological sciences, physics, chemistry and computer science. Behavioral Sciences includes criminal justice, economics, health and human performance, and psychology. So your first decision is which of these families your interests already lean toward.
Applied English and Professional Writing is a concentration with a job skill written into it. You step into STEM-related writing, which means you discover how to develop content for marketing high-tech products, and you practice writing proposals for potential business customers and instructions for software developers. So the writing you practice in this concentration has named readers, business customers and software developers.
Delivery is your call, because the degree is available 100% online or as a combination of online and on-campus classes. Either way it's 120 credit hours, which the college lists as 4 years. Within that, you design and individualize your own curriculum track around your interests or career goals, so two people in the same degree can take quite different courses. An associate's degree in general studies is offered too, on campus and online.
Graduates are pointed toward office and analysis roles. The college's list of potential job titles includes administrative or executive assistant, operations or general manager, program manager, project coordinator and market research analyst. If you'd keep studying instead, the page names a Master of General Studies and a Doctor of Philosophy in General Studies as graduate programs to pursue.
5
Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Bachelor of General Studies
Louisiana
53.8- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 43%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $8,864 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 91
About the Program
Some 8,523 students attend Northwestern State University of Louisiana, a public university in Natchitoches, Louisiana. It conferred 91 bachelor's degrees in the latest reported year, which is more than 77% of the bachelor's programs ranked at this level. Of the students who start at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, 43% graduate, and that beats 31 in every 100 institutions on this measure. Tuition and fees are $8,864 a year for residents and $19,652 for students from out of state, which makes it cheaper than 68% of programs at this level. Because the full degree is offered online, it is open to students well outside the region. Getting in is not automatic, because 93% of applicants are admitted. Its strongest mark is the number of degrees it awards, at the 77th percentile.
6
Louisiana State University-Alexandria
Louisiana
52.6- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 34%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $7,050 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 90
About the Program
Some 6,815 students attend Louisiana State University-Alexandria, a public university in Alexandria, Louisiana. The program's last federal report shows 90 bachelor's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 77 in every 100 programs measured here. Its college-wide graduation rate is 34%, the 13th percentile, because the federal record tracks completion by institution. Residents pay $7,050 a year in tuition and fees, while out-of-state students pay $14,725. Distance students can complete the whole degree online, so where you live matters less here. Getting in is not automatic, because 92% of applicants are admitted. Strongest of its measures is price, which lands at the 92nd percentile.
7
Louisiana State University-Shreveport
Louisiana
52.5- Public
- College graduation rate
- 38%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $7,327 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 62
About the Program
Shreveport, Louisiana is home to Louisiana State University-Shreveport, a public university of 10,749 students. Some 62 bachelor's degrees were conferred in the last year on record, a bigger output than 65% of the programs ranked alongside it. Of the students who start at Louisiana State University-Shreveport, 38% graduate, and that beats 20 in every 100 institutions on this measure. Tuition and fees are $7,327 a year for residents and $20,481 for students from out of state, which makes it cheaper than 91% of programs at this level. Applicants are admitted at a rate of 51%, which leaves room for a rejection. On price it does best, reaching the 91st percentile.
8
Grambling State University
Louisiana
47.0- Public
- Fully Online Option
- HBCU
- College graduation rate
- 36%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $7,683 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 42
About the Program
Some 5,150 students attend Grambling State University, a historically Black public university in Grambling, Louisiana. The program's last federal report shows 42 bachelor's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 55 in every 100 programs measured here. Across the whole college, 36% of students finish, which is a higher rate than 16% of the institutions behind this list. Tuition and fees run $7,683 a year in state against $16,706 out of state, so on price it sits at the 87th percentile. Because the full degree is offered online, it is open to students well outside the region. About 45% of applicants are admitted, so an application is not a formality. Strongest of its measures is price, which lands at the 87th percentile.
9
Southern University at New Orleans
Louisiana
33.4- Public
- HBCU
- College graduation rate
- 13%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $7,490 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 19
About the Program
New Orleans, Louisiana is home to Southern University at New Orleans, a historically Black public university of 2,468 students. It conferred 19 bachelor's degrees in the latest reported year, which is more than 25% of the bachelor's programs ranked at this level. Its college-wide graduation rate is 13%, the 1st percentile, because the federal record tracks completion by institution. Tuition and fees run $7,490 a year in state against $16,390 out of state, so on price it sits at the 89th percentile. Getting in is not automatic, because 79% of applicants are admitted. Strongest of its measures is price, which lands at the 89th percentile.
Other General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Louisiana
The other general studies bachelor's degrees in Louisiana 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 Holy Cross, New Orleans | 5 | 49% | $16,160 |
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 Louisiana?
A general studies bachelor's degree in Louisiana costs $8,417 a year in resident tuition and required fees at the median of the ten programs, and all nine public universities fall between $7,050 and $10,418. LSU Alexandria is the cheapest at $7,050, then LSU Shreveport $7,327, Southern University at New Orleans $7,490 and Grambling State $7,683. Southeastern Louisiana ($8,373), McNeese State ($8,460) and Northwestern State ($8,864) form the middle, ULM is $9,190 and UL Lafayette is $10,418. The University of Holy Cross, private and in the other-programs table, is $16,160. For out-of-state online students, McNeese's nonresident rate is $9,960, against $20,851 at Southeastern and $21,290 at ULM.
The state's adult grant, the M.J. Foster Promise, pays for qualified programs at two-year public colleges, so it funds the community college half of the route, not the bachelor's itself. It's for students 21 or older with income at or below 300% of the federal poverty guidelines or six months of unemployment or underemployment, and it pays $3,200 a year. If you're starting at a community college with one of these universities in mind, use it there and arrive at the bachelor's with the core already paid for.
How Does Credit Transfer Into a General Studies Bachelor's Degree in Louisiana?
Credit transfers into a general studies bachelor's degree in Louisiana on a statewide guarantee for the general education core, and on each university's own rules for everything else. The core is the strong part. Every Louisiana bachelor's is built on a 39-hour general education core, and the Board of Regents treats the Associate of General Studies as a transfer degree built on that core, alongside the Associate of Arts and Associate of Science. If you arrive with an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science Louisiana Transfer degree instead, the state guarantees all 60 hours of the core transfer and that you enroll with junior standing. Since January 2023, Regents policy AA 2.25 adds Universal Transfer Pathways, a standardized first 60 hours that every institution must honor.
What the guarantees leave to the university is how your other credits count toward the general studies major, and that is where the programs here differ. A Bachelor of General Studies at Southeastern, McNeese, Northwestern State, ULM or UL Lafayette is the degree built to absorb credits from an earlier major, so ask each one what cap it puts on transfer hours, how many hours you must take in residence, and whether courses from a major you abandoned count toward the degree or only as electives. Get the evaluation in writing before you enroll.
What Do Jobs With a General Studies Bachelor's Degree Pay in Louisiana?
Jobs open to a general studies bachelor's degree in Louisiana 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 Louisiana
Choosing a general studies bachelor's degree program in Louisiana is a choice about graduation rate and delivery, because every ranked program is public and the price gap between the cheapest and the most expensive is $7,050 against $10,418. ULM's 54% and UL Lafayette's 53% lead on completion, and ULM is online while Lafayette is on campus. McNeese at 47% and Southeastern at 45% are the next online options, and both cost less than ULM. The cheaper programs finish fewer students: LSU Alexandria graduates 34%, Grambling 36% and Southern University at New Orleans 13%.
Bring your transfer credit organized around the core, because Louisiana's Master Course Articulation Matrix guarantees that every general education course transfers between all Louisiana public colleges and universities, so your general education hours should arrive intact wherever you finish. What to ask is about everything else: how many credits from an earlier major the Bachelor of General Studies will count, whether the university caps transfer hours toward the degree, and whether the online version runs every required course every term. If you already hold an associate from McNeese or Northwestern State, ask whether the same campus moves you into its bachelor's without a new application.
If you're starting with an associate degree, the general studies associate degrees in Louisiana have their own page.
Common Questions About General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Louisiana
What Is the Cheapest General Studies Bachelor's Degree in Louisiana?
Which Louisiana General Studies Bachelor's Program Has the Highest Graduation Rate?
Can You Finish a General Studies Bachelor's Degree Online in Louisiana?
Does a Louisiana Transfer Degree Give You Junior Standing in a General Studies Bachelor's Program?
Which Louisiana Universities Offer Both a General Studies Associate and Bachelor's Degree?
Where Do the Figures on This Louisiana Page Come From?
- 2024-2025 Articulation and Transfer Report
- Regents Combined Response to HR101 and HCR5 of 2023
- Academic Affairs Policy 2.25: Universal Transfer Pathways (approved 1/9/2023)
- M.J. Foster Promise Program
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, state estimates