Source: IPEDS, as of September 29, 2026. Cost is resident tuition plus required fees, 2023-24.
Bachelor's Degrees in New Jersey
5
Meet the Ranking Threshold
2
Median Resident Tuition and Fees
$37,686
General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in New Jersey
General studies bachelor's degrees in New Jersey are five programs that sort into one public bargain, one large private program and three that awarded 8 or 9 degrees apiece. Rowan University's Bachelor of General Studies in Glassboro has the highest score in the state at this level, 67.6, 27th nationally on our list, on a 67% graduation rate, 118 degrees a year and $15,700 in resident tuition and fees, the lowest price on the page. Fairleigh Dickinson University's Metropolitan Campus in Teaneck is the other ranked program: it awarded 166 degrees, the most at this level in the state, graduates 53% and charges $37,686, for a score of 50.7 and 82nd place nationally.
The other three sit in the table of other programs. New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, public, graduates 73%, the highest rate here, on 9 degrees at $19,022. Centenary University in Hackettstown graduates 56% on 9 degrees at $37,732, and FDU's Florham Campus in Madison graduates 67% on 8 degrees at $38,506.
Every general studies bachelor's degree in New Jersey is a campus program. Two of the five are public, and the public pair costs $15,700 and $19,022 against $37,686 to $38,506 for the three private programs, so the price line and the public line are the same line.
The 2 Best General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in New Jersey
The best general studies bachelor's degrees in New Jersey 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 New Jersey. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.
1
Rowan University
Bachelor of General Studies (BGS)
New Jersey
67.6- Public
- College graduation rate
- 67%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $15,700 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 118
About the Program
Electives carry the weight of this degree. You take 57 s.h. of electives, 9 of them at the 300-400 level, alongside 42 s.h. of general education and Rowan Experience courses and an 18 s.h. focus area, which also needs 9 s.h. at the 300-400 level. So you still have to finish upper-level work in both the focus area and the electives.
Your focus area can be a minor, but then you must meet that minor's admission requirements, so choosing one means qualifying for it as well. Beyond the focus area, required courses include a 2-credit Career Planning and Development course and a 1-credit Bachelor of General Studies Portfolio.
Entry to the Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) is restricted, because the degree is intended for students without a feasible pathway to completing a traditional degree. You need at least 75 transferable college credits to be admitted, so the BGS is a way to finish college and you can't begin college in it. If you're judged a suitable candidate, you complete the BGS application and a Learning Contract.
Plan on being on campus, because the BGS is offered face-to-face, full time or part time. You can enter in fall, spring or summer, with application deadlines of July 1, November 1 and April 1, and you don't pay an application fee. To graduate you need a 2.0 GPA and 120 semester hours, and 30 s.h. must be at Rowan, which caps how much of the degree can come from credits earned elsewhere.
2
Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus
New Jersey
50.7- Private nonprofit
- College graduation rate
- 53%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $37,686 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 166
About the Program
Some 8,045 students attend Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus, a private nonprofit university in Teaneck, New Jersey. The program's last federal report shows 166 bachelor's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 91 in every 100 programs measured here. A 53% graduation rate puts the college at the 59th percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Residents and nonresidents are both charged $37,686 a year in tuition and fees. About 91% of applicants are admitted, so an application is not a formality. Its strongest mark is the number of degrees it awards, at the 91st percentile.
Other General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in New Jersey
The other general studies bachelor's degrees in New Jersey 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centenary University, Hackettstown | 9 | 56% | $37,732 |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark | 9 | 73% | $19,022 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus, Madison | 8 | 67% | $38,506 |
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 New Jersey?
A general studies bachelor's degree in New Jersey costs $37,686 a year in tuition and required fees at the median of the five programs, which is FDU's Metropolitan Campus price and tells you what the private programs charge, not what the public ones do. Rowan is $15,700 for residents and NJIT $19,022, with nonresidents paying $25,564 and $35,934. The three private programs are priced almost alike: FDU Metropolitan $37,686, Centenary $37,732 and FDU Florham $38,506, with no resident discount at any of them.
The state's biggest lever on this price works before you arrive. The Community College Opportunity Grant covers remaining tuition, up to 18 credits a term, and approved fees after other grants for county college students with an adjusted gross income between $0 and $65,000, so an eligible student can do the first two years free and arrive at Rowan as a junior under the Lampitt Law, paying $15,700 for two years rather than four. The catch for 2025-2026 is that new students are not being admitted to the grant's higher-income tiers because of reduced funding, so check which tier you'd be in.
How Does Credit Transfer Into a General Studies Bachelor's Degree in New Jersey?
Credit transfers into a general studies bachelor's degree in New Jersey on a legal guarantee at Rowan and NJIT and on the university's own terms at FDU and Centenary. The guarantee is the Lampitt Law, which says a county college Associate of Arts or Associate of Science shall be fully transferable and credited as the first two years of a bachelor's degree at the state's public four-year institutions. The Comprehensive State-wide Transfer Agreement, adopted in September 2008, fixes the numbers: an A.A. into a B.A. or an A.S. into a B.S. brings exactly half the credits required for the four-year degree, with junior status on enrollment, and the student is considered to have completed all lower-division general education.
For Rowan's Bachelor of General Studies that is the whole route from Ocean County College or Atlantic Cape: finish the A.A., arrive as a junior, complete the other half. The agreement document is from 2008, though the law behind it stands, so ask Rowan or NJIT how they apply it now, and ask whether a Bachelor of General Studies counts as the B.A. side of the A.A.-to-B.A. match. At FDU's two campuses and Centenary, the law doesn't reach, so ask each how many county college credits it accepts toward the general studies degree and how many must be taken on its own campus.
What Do Jobs With a General Studies Bachelor's Degree Pay in New Jersey?
Jobs open to a general studies bachelor's degree in New Jersey 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 New Jersey
To choose a general studies bachelor's degree program in New Jersey, start with Rowan and ask what would justify paying more, because it has the highest score at this level, a 67% graduation rate and the lowest price, $15,700. FDU's Metropolitan Campus is the only other ranked program, and it trades a bigger cohort, 166 degrees a year to Rowan's 118, for a lower graduation rate, 53%, and a price more than twice as high at $37,686. NJIT graduates 73% but awarded 9 degrees at $19,022, so ask how many students the program has now before you treat that rate as a promise.
None of the five programs is online, so a New Jersey general studies bachelor's means a campus in Glassboro, Newark, Teaneck, Madison or Hackettstown. Ask Rowan and NJIT how the Lampitt Law's junior-standing guarantee applies to a county college general studies A.A., ask the private universities how many transfer credits they accept and what institutional aid comes off the sticker price, and ask every program what the degree is called on the diploma, since Rowan's is a Bachelor of General Studies.
If you're starting with an associate degree, the general studies associate degrees in New Jersey have their own page.
Common Questions About General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in New Jersey
How Much Does Rowan University Charge for Its Bachelor of General Studies?
Do Any New Jersey Universities Teach the General Studies Bachelor's Degree Online?
How Many Credits Does a County College Graduate Bring Into Rowan's Bachelor of General Studies?
Why Does Fairleigh Dickinson Award More General Studies Bachelor's Degrees Than Rowan but Score Lower?
Can the Community College Opportunity Grant Lower the Cost of a General Studies Bachelor's in New Jersey?
Where Do the Figures on This New Jersey Page Come From?
- P.L.2007, Chapter 175 (C.18A:62-46)
- Comprehensive State-wide Transfer Agreement (adopted by NJPC 9/22/08)
- Community College Opportunity Grant
- New Jersey Community College Opportunity Grant Report 2025
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, state estimates