Source: IPEDS, as of September 29, 2026. Cost is resident tuition plus required fees, 2023-24.
Bachelor's Degrees in Missouri
14
Meet the Ranking Threshold
6
Median Resident Tuition and Fees
$28,918
With a Fully Online Option
6
General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Missouri
General studies bachelor's degrees in Missouri are a 14-program level where only two programs are public, and those two hold the top two ranked spots. Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau scores 70.1, 23rd in the national bachelor's ranking, on 116 degrees a year, a 58% graduation rate and $9,495 in tuition and fees, charged to residents and non-residents alike, with an online option. Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville scores 55.5 and ranks 60th, graduating 54% on 46 degrees at $10,181, also online, and offers the degree as a B.A., B.S. or B.A.S.
The four ranked private programs trail on score. Columbia College awards the most general studies bachelor's degrees in the state, 162 a year, online at $12,268, but a 42% graduation rate holds it to 44.8. Drury University's College of Continuing Professional Studies in Springfield awards 15 online at $8,044 and graduates 43%, scoring 42.5. Avila University in Kansas City graduates 52% at $38,762 on 11 degrees, scoring 27.4, and Missouri Baptist University in Saint Louis graduates 48% at $33,122 on 15, scoring 26.3.
So tuition and fees across the ranked six run from $8,044 at Drury to $38,762 at Avila, and graduation rates from 42% at Columbia College to 58% at Southeast Missouri State. The eight programs below the threshold are all private and awarded 1 to 7 degrees each, and Saint Louis University, among them, graduates 80% at $53,244.
The 6 Best General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Missouri
The best general studies bachelor's degrees in Missouri 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 Missouri. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.
1
Southeast Missouri State University
General Education
Missouri
70.1- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 58%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $9,495 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 116
About the Program
Every bachelor's student at Southeast clears the same general education core, this degree included, so you need at least 42 credit hours of it before the degree is done. Those hours are split across set categories: 6 in written communication, 3 in oral communication, 3 in mathematics, 6 in social and behavioral sciences, 7 in natural sciences, 9 in humanities and fine arts, and 3 in civics. That leaves 5 hours you can put in any category, which is where you lean toward the subjects you'd rather spend your time on.
Two of those categories won't let you stay in one subject. The 9 humanities and fine arts hours must come from at least two disciplines, and the 7 natural science hours from two disciplines. The catch is how the university counts a discipline: Chinese, French, German and Spanish are one, European and world civilization are one, the music subjects are one, and art history with studio art are one. So French plus Spanish counts as a single discipline, which means you'll need to reach into a second field to finish the category.
One natural science course must include a lab, so ask how that works at a distance before you plan the term. No more than 3 credit hours can come from performance-based courses like studio drawing or a music ensemble, so fine arts hours can't all be studio time. Civics adds 3 credit hours of coursework plus an exam that carries no credit but is required to graduate. The two American history surveys sit on both the civics and social science lists but count toward only one requirement, so one course can't cover both.
If you're arriving with credits, two rules decide how much of this core is already behind you. Courses carrying the MOTR designation count as general education credit at any public college or university in Missouri. Most students also take a freshman seminar on connecting with the university, which counts toward the 5 additional-requirement hours, but it's waived once you transfer 24 credit hours. Credits earned in high school through dual credit or early college programs don't count toward that 24, which means hours banked in high school won't get you out of the seminar.
2
Northwest Missouri State University
General Studies (B.A., B.S., B.A.S.)
Missouri
55.5- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 54%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $10,181 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 46
About the Program
Vocational and technical credits have a route into a four-year degree here. The Bachelor of Applied Science is for transfer students pursuing a vocational, technical or associate degree, and it's built to maximize the transfer of those courses, which shortens your time to the degree. The B.A.S. also requires fewer Northwest Core courses, the general education courses, so general education takes up less of what you have left to do.
Picking between the B.A. and the B.S. doesn't change the size of the major, because each is a 69-hour major with no minor required. Those hours give you a broad education across the university's disciplines, which leaves room for additional electives in any discipline area and still enough room for further study in one particular area. An online program is available in general studies.
Every major in the school must have a school advisor from the appropriate area who approves all programs, deviations or options, so you don't assemble this degree on your own say-so. Credit by examination through the School of Humanities and Social Sciences isn't available for courses in its catalog.
Careers Northwest lists for the major include academic advising, humanitarian services, case manager, community relations, freelance writing and lobbyist. That list runs wide, which fits what the catalog says the major is meant to provide, a broad education across the disciplines.
3
Columbia College
Missouri
44.8- Private nonprofit
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 42%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $12,268 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 162
About the Program
Based in Columbia, Missouri, Columbia College is a private nonprofit college with 5,689 students on its rolls. The program's last federal report shows 162 bachelor's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 90 in every 100 programs measured here. Across the whole college, 42% of students finish, which is a higher rate than 28% of the institutions behind this list. Tuition and fees are $12,268 a year for every student, residents and nonresidents alike. Nothing in the degree requires attending in person, since it is offered fully online. What lifts it most is the number of degrees it awards, where it reaches the 90th percentile.
4
Drury University-College of Continuing Professional Studies
Missouri
42.5- Private nonprofit
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 43%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $8,044 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 15
About the Program
Based in Springfield, Missouri, Drury University-College of Continuing Professional Studies is a private nonprofit university with 659 students on its rolls. Some 15 bachelor's degrees were conferred in the last year on record, a bigger output than 13% of the programs ranked alongside it. Across the whole college, 43% of students finish, which is a higher rate than 31% of the institutions behind this list. Tuition and fees hold at $8,044 a year whichever state you come from. The degree can be finished entirely online, which suits anyone who cannot move or stop working. Strongest of its measures is price, which lands at the 83rd percentile.
5
Avila University
Missouri
27.4- Private nonprofit
- College graduation rate
- 52%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $38,762 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 11
About the Program
Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Avila University is a private nonprofit university with 2,768 students on its rolls. Some 11 bachelor's degrees were conferred in the last year on record, a bigger output than 3% of the programs ranked alongside it. Its college-wide graduation rate is 52%, the 56th percentile, because the federal record tracks completion by institution. Every student pays $38,762 a year in tuition and fees, since the institution sets one rate. Getting in is not automatic, because 88% of applicants are admitted. Strongest of its measures is the graduation rate of its college, which lands at the 56th percentile.
6
Missouri Baptist University
Missouri
26.3- Private nonprofit
- College graduation rate
- 48%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $33,122 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 15
About the Program
Some 5,699 students attend Missouri Baptist University, a private nonprofit university in Saint Louis, Missouri. During the most recent year on record it awarded 15 bachelor's degrees, a count at the 13th percentile for size. A 48% graduation rate puts the college at the 44th percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Tuition and fees are $33,122 a year for every student, residents and nonresidents alike. Admission is selective enough to plan for, with 69% of applicants accepted. What lifts it most is the graduation rate of its college, where it reaches the 44th percentile.
Other General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Missouri
The other general studies bachelor's degrees in Missouri 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webster University, Saint Louis | 7 | 64% | $30,730 |
| Fontbonne University, Saint Louis | 6 | 40% | $28,976 |
| Culver-Stockton College, Canton | 5 | 39% | $29,915 |
| Missouri Valley College, Marshall | 4 | 22% | $23,000 |
| College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout | 4 | 64% | $21,290 |
| Saint Louis University, Saint Louis | 3 | 80% | $53,244 |
| Westminster College, Fulton | 2 | 55% | $34,188 |
| William Woods University, Fulton | 1 | 47% | $28,860 |
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 Missouri?
A general studies bachelor's degree in Missouri costs a median of $28,918 a year in tuition and required fees for 2023-24 across the 14 programs, and that median is a private-college number, because 12 of the 14 are private. The two public universities sit far below it, Southeast Missouri State at $9,495 for everyone and Northwest Missouri State at $10,181 for residents and $16,623 for non-residents, and so do Drury at $8,044 and Columbia College at $12,268. The rest run from College of the Ozarks at $21,290 and Missouri Valley at $23,000 through five more between $28,860 and $34,188 to Avila at $38,762 and Saint Louis University at $53,244.
Missouri's grant for adults is the Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant, which the state describes as a program designed to provide adults with the education and skills needed to enter the workforce in fields that are in high demand. It's a last-dollar award: awards will be for any remaining tuition and fees not covered by other state and federal non-loan student aid programs. So an adult finishing a bachelor's at Southeast Missouri State or Northwest Missouri State should ask the aid office whether the general studies degree qualifies.
How Does Credit Transfer Into a General Studies Bachelor's Degree in Missouri?
Credit transfers into a general studies bachelor's degree in Missouri on two levels, the whole general education block and the single course, and at the state's public universities both are guaranteed by law. The block is CORE 42, Missouri's statewide 42-credit-hour transferable lower-division general education curriculum, in force since the 2018-2019 academic year under a 2016 statute codified at RSMo 178.785 to 178.789. A transcript marked CORE 42 Complete transfers as a block, which means lower-division general education is complete, so Southeast Missouri State or Northwest Missouri State can't send you back through general education.
The single-course guarantee covers students who arrive without the full block. Courses carrying a Missouri Transfer number are protected: MOTR Equivalent Course credits are guaranteed to transfer one-to-one and serve the same role (including as prerequisites) as the receiving IHE's equivalent course. That prerequisite clause means a MOTR course unlocks the upper-division course that needs it instead of being parked as an elective.
Columbia College, Drury, Avila, Missouri Baptist and the eight unranked programs are private, and the statute binds public institutions. Ask any private college how it reads CORE 42 Complete and MOTR credit, and get the answer in writing before you enroll. At any of the 14, ask how many of your remaining associate credits land inside the general studies major.
What Do Jobs With a General Studies Bachelor's Degree Pay in Missouri?
Jobs open to a general studies bachelor's degree in Missouri 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 Missouri
How to choose a general studies bachelor's degree program in Missouri starts and mostly ends with the two public universities, because they finish more of their students than any private option and cost less than all but Drury. Southeast Missouri State's 58% graduation rate at $9,495 and Northwest Missouri State's 54% at $10,181 both beat Columbia College's 42% at $12,268, Drury's 43% at $8,044, Missouri Baptist's 48% at $33,122 and Avila's 52% at $38,762. Online delivery doesn't separate them either: Southeast Missouri State, Northwest Missouri State, Columbia College and Drury are all online, and Avila and Missouri Baptist are campus programs.
If you're transferring in, bring your general education finished. A transcript marked CORE 42 Complete transfers as a block, which means lower-division general education is complete, and courses with MOTR numbers transfer one-to-one. Then ask the university how many of your remaining associate credits count toward the general studies major rather than as electives, whether the degree lets you build concentrations from two or three fields, and how many credits must be taken at the university itself. At Northwest Missouri State, ask whether the B.A., B.S. or B.A.S. version fits the credits you're bringing.
If you're starting with an associate degree, the general studies associate degrees in Missouri have their own page.