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

General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Minnesota

General studies bachelor's degrees in Minnesota are three small programs that together awarded 22 degrees in the latest year: 9 at Minnesota State University-Mankato, 7 at Concordia University-Saint Paul and 6 at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. None reached the 10 degrees a year the national ranking requires, so they're ranked here within Minnesota on the national formula. Two are public and one, Concordia, is private.

Mankato ranks first with a score of 44.9 because it leads on the two heaviest factors: a 54% graduation rate, the 62nd percentile of the national pool, and $9,490 a year in resident tuition and required fees, the 57th, with $18,860 for nonresidents. Southwest Minnesota State ranks second at 29.5, graduating 45% and charging $10,304 to everyone, resident or not. Concordia ranks third at 23.2, graduating 46%, a point above Marshall, but charging $25,000, more than two and a half times Mankato's resident rate, and it awards the same degree at the associate level for the same price.

A general studies bachelor's this small is usually a finishing degree for a student arriving with two years of credit who needs a flexible major to complete. In Minnesota that makes the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum the most important thing on this page, because at the two public universities a certified MnTC settles general education on arrival. The state's largest general studies program, Red Lake Nation College's online associate degree, awards 34 a year, more than these three bachelor's programs combined.

The 3 Best General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Minnesota

The general studies bachelor's degrees in Minnesota are ranked below within the state. Each awarded fewer than the 10 degrees a year the national bachelor's degree ranking requires, so none is on the national list, but each is scored on the same formula and against the same national programs, so a score here means what it means there. The number on each card is the program's place in Minnesota.

1. 1

   Minnesota State University-Mankato

   Minnesota

   44.9

   • Public

   College graduation rate

   54%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $9,490 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   9

   • College graduation rate percentile 62 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 57 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 1 / 100

   About the Program

   Mankato, Minnesota is home to Minnesota State University-Mankato, a public university of 15,271 students. Some 9 bachelor's degrees were conferred in the last year on record, a bigger output than 1% of the programs ranked alongside it. Of the students who start at Minnesota State University-Mankato, 54% graduate, and that beats 62 in every 100 institutions on this measure. Tuition and fees run $9,490 a year in state against $18,860 out of state, so on price it sits at the 57th percentile. About 88% of applicants are admitted, so an application is not a formality. Its strongest mark is the graduation rate of its college, at the 62nd percentile.

2. 2

   Southwest Minnesota State University

   Minnesota

   29.5

   • Public

   College graduation rate

   45%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $10,304 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   6

   • College graduation rate percentile 37 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 43 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 1 / 100

   About the Program

   Marshall, Minnesota is home to Southwest Minnesota State University, a public university of 8,214 students. During the most recent year on record it awarded 6 bachelor's degrees, a count at the 1st percentile for size. Of the students who start at Southwest Minnesota State University, 45% graduate, and that beats 37 in every 100 institutions on this measure. Residents and nonresidents are both charged $10,304 a year in tuition and fees. Admission is selective enough to plan for, with 62% of applicants accepted. On price it does best, reaching the 43rd percentile.

3. 3

   Concordia University-Saint Paul

   Minnesota

   23.2

   • Private nonprofit

   College graduation rate

   46%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $25,000 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   7

   • College graduation rate percentile 39 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 19 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 1 / 100

   About the Program

   Some 6,003 students attend Concordia University-Saint Paul, a private nonprofit university in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The program's last federal report shows 7 bachelor's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 1 in every 100 programs measured here. A 46% graduation rate puts the college at the 39th percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Every student pays $25,000 a year in tuition and fees, since the institution sets one rate. About 79% of applicants are admitted, so an application is not a formality. On the graduation rate of its college it does best, reaching the 39th percentile.

How Much Does a General Studies Bachelor's Degree Cost in Minnesota?

A general studies bachelor's degree in Minnesota costs $10,304 a year in resident tuition and required fees at the median, which is Southwest Minnesota State University's 2023-24 rate, and the range runs from $9,490 at Minnesota State University-Mankato to $25,000 at Concordia University-Saint Paul. The two public universities are $814 apart for a resident. For a nonresident the order flips: Southwest Minnesota State charges the same $10,304 to out-of-state students, while Mankato charges $18,860, so a student from outside Minnesota pays $8,556 a year less in Marshall than in Mankato.

The state grant to understand at this level is the Minnesota State Grant, because it has a ceiling a transfer student can hit. Under Minnesota Statutes 136A.121, an eligible undergraduate can receive it in any year of undergraduate study unless the student has obtained a bachelor's degree or has received a state grant award for 120 credits. North Star Promise is the other piece: for residents with family adjusted gross income below $80,000 it covers up to 100 percent of tuition and fees after gift aid, and it stays open while you finish a first bachelor's, since the condition is that you haven't completed one.

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

Credit transfers into a general studies bachelor's degree in Minnesota most cleanly when you arrive with the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum certified complete, because Minnesota State's System Procedure 3.21.1 requires that when any sending college has determined a student completed the entire MnTC, every receiving college or university must accept it as complete. Minnesota State University-Mankato and Southwest Minnesota State University are Minnesota State universities, so that rule binds them. Concordia University-Saint Paul is private, so ask it how it treats a completed MnTC.

The procedure also tells you which associate degrees arrive whole. Associate of Arts degrees meet all goal areas and total credits of the MnTC and transfer into liberal arts bachelor's programs, and Transfer Pathways degrees, AA, AS and AFA programs that transfer in their entirety to designated bachelor's programs at Minnesota State universities, go further by carrying the major credits too. The question for Mankato or Marshall is whether its general studies bachelor's is a designated receiving program for any Transfer Pathway, and if not, how it counts the non-MnTC credits on your transcript.

What the policy leaves open is the upper half of the degree. The number of credits you must complete in residence and how electives from a previous college are applied are decided campus by campus, so get both in writing before you enroll.

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

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

How to choose a general studies bachelor's degree program in Minnesota comes down to Mankato against Marshall, because the two public universities are $814 apart for a resident and Concordia University-Saint Paul costs more than twice either at $25,000. Mankato graduates 54% at $9,490 and awards 9 degrees a year, Southwest Minnesota State graduates 45% at $10,304 and awards 6, and Concordia graduates 46% and awards 7, so the in-state ranking runs Mankato 44.9, Southwest Minnesota State 29.5, Concordia 23.2. For a nonresident the choice tilts toward Marshall, where everyone pays $10,304 against $18,860 at Mankato.

None of the three is offered online, so you'll attend in Mankato, Marshall or Saint Paul. Before you pick a campus, ask the registrar whether your transcript shows the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum certified complete, since a certified MnTC must be accepted as complete at any Minnesota State university, how many credits you'll need to take in residence, and whether you've already drawn the Minnesota State Grant for close to 120 credits. If you haven't started at all, the associate degrees that feed these programs are listed in the national associate degree ranking.

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