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

General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in North Carolina

General studies bachelor's degrees in North Carolina are four programs, and one public university carries the level. Winston-Salem State University's Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies awarded 58 degrees in the latest year, more than the other three combined, scores 62.4 and ranks 45th on the national bachelor's ranking, on $6,735 in resident tuition and fees, a 47% graduation rate and a fully online option. It's the only public general studies bachelor's in the state and the only one you can finish online.

Chowan University in Murfreesboro is the other ranked program, at 13.4, with 17 graduates, a 30% graduation rate and tuition and fees of $27,110. The gap between the two scores is the gap between a $6,735 public degree that graduates nearly half its students and a private one at $27,110 that graduates fewer than a third.

Below the threshold, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest awarded 1 degree at $10,516 with a 58% graduation rate, and Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte awarded 1 at $39,992 with 49%. So if you want a general studies bachelor's in North Carolina, the choice for almost everyone is Winston-Salem State, and the open question is how you get there.

The 2 Best General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in North Carolina

The best general studies bachelor's degrees in North Carolina 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 North Carolina. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.

1. 1

   Winston-Salem State University

   Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies

   North Carolina

   62.4

   • Public
   • Fully Online Option
   • HBCU

   College graduation rate

   47%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $6,735 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   58

   • College graduation rate percentile 41 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 95 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 62 / 100

   About the Program

   Combining coursework from two or more academic areas is how you build the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies, and you name one area as primary and one as secondary. In both, you take foundational courses in research, writing and presentation, so the areas you combine share a set of skills. The electives named on the page include Black Writers in American Literature, Native American Studies, Cultural Diversity and Sociology of the African American.

   Distance study runs through the Integrative Studies Concentration, which the Department of Liberal Studies offers inside this degree. The condition is order: once your general education requirements are complete, you can take all upper-level integrative studies courses fully online. The college says the degree suits transfer students looking to apply their credits, and you can attend full-time or part-time, on campus, online or in a hybrid format.

   Careers the college names for its graduates include education, advocacy and social services, media and the arts, law and government, and business. The college words this as fields such as these, which means the list is a set of examples and not a full account of where graduates work. You can choose your primary and secondary areas with one of those fields in mind.

2. 2

   Chowan University

   North Carolina

   13.4

   • Private nonprofit

   College graduation rate

   30%

   In-state tuition and fees

   $27,110 a year

   Degrees awarded, latest year

   17

   • College graduation rate percentile 8 / 100
   • In-state tuition and fees percentile 17 / 100
   • Degrees awarded, latest year percentile 18 / 100

   About the Program

   Based in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, Chowan University is a private nonprofit university with 675 students on its rolls. The program's last federal report shows 17 bachelor's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 18 in every 100 programs measured here. Its college-wide graduation rate is 30%, the 8th percentile, because the federal record tracks completion by institution. Tuition and fees are $27,110 a year for every student, residents and nonresidents alike. Getting in is not automatic, because 69% of applicants are admitted. Strongest of its measures is the number of degrees it awards, which lands at the 18th percentile.

Other General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in North Carolina

The other general studies bachelor's degrees in North Carolina 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.

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 North Carolina?

A general studies bachelor's degree in North Carolina costs a median of $18,813 a year in tuition and required fees for 2023-24, a figure that falls between one public price and three private ones. Winston-Salem State University charges residents $6,735 and nonresidents $17,391. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary lists $10,516, Chowan University $27,110 and Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte $39,992, each the same for every student.

At Winston-Salem State, a UNC System campus, the Next NC Scholarship combines the federal Pell Grant with state aid to provide at least $5,000 for full-time enrollment at any of the 16 public universities, for North Carolina residents with an adjusted gross income up to $80,000 and a Student Aid Index up to 7,500. You must enroll for at least 6 credit hours, so a part-time finisher qualifies, though the $5,000 figure is the full-time award. Set against $6,735 in tuition and fees, it covers most of the resident price. The three private programs are outside Next NC, so ask each what institutional aid a transfer student receives.

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

Credit transfers into a general studies bachelor's degree at Winston-Salem State under the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement between the UNC System and the North Carolina Community College System. Graduate from a community college with an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science and an overall GPA of at least 2.0 and you're guaranteed admission to a UNC System institution and a General Education Waiver at any UNC school that admits you. The Universal General Education Transfer Component, at least 30 semester hours within the AA and AS, earns one-to-one general education credit at any UNC campus.

Two limits matter. The Transfer Assured Admissions Policy assures admission to one of the 16 UNC System institutions, not to a specific campus, program or major, so it doesn't put you in Winston-Salem State's interdisciplinary studies degree. And the agreement applies to the AA and AS only: arrive with an Associate in General Studies or no degree and you lose the full guarantees, though CAA Transfer Course List courses passed with a C- or higher still transfer.

Chowan, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Johnson & Wales-Charlotte are private and set their own terms. For any of the four, ask how many of your credits land in the major rather than in electives, since the general education waiver settles general education and nothing else.

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

Jobs open to a general studies bachelor's degree in North Carolina 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 North Carolina

Choosing a general studies bachelor's degree program in North Carolina is mostly a decision about how to arrive at Winston-Salem State, because it is the only public program, the only online one, the cheapest at $6,735 and the only one that awarded more than 17 degrees. Its 47% graduation rate is the figure to weigh: Chowan University graduates 30% at $27,110, and the two unranked programs, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary at 58% and Johnson & Wales-Charlotte at 49%, awarded 1 degree each.

If you're coming from a community college, arrive with an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science and a 2.0 GPA, so the CAA's guaranteed admission and general education waiver apply, and ask Winston-Salem State how the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies builds its concentrations from transfer credit. Ask whether the online sections are the same courses as the campus ones, whether Next NC applies to your enrollment, and what the degree is called on the diploma, since interdisciplinary studies and general studies sit in the same federal category.

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