Source: IPEDS, as of September 29, 2026. Cost is resident tuition plus required fees, 2023-24.
Bachelor's Degrees in Virginia
5
Meet the Ranking Threshold
2
Median Resident Tuition and Fees
$29,162
With a Fully Online Option
2
General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Virginia
General studies bachelor's degrees in Virginia are five programs with one of them doing almost all of the work: George Mason University's Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Studies awarded 136 degrees in the latest year, and the other four together awarded 20. George Mason, in Fairfax, scores 71.1 and ranks 21st in the national bachelor's ranking on a 68% graduation rate, $13,815 in resident tuition and required fees and a fully online option. It's the only public program at this level in the state.
Ferrum College is the other ranked program, and it shows what the score punishes: a 32% graduation rate, $38,320 in tuition and fees and 13 degrees a year give it 8.4 and 164th place. Three programs sit below the threshold with 1 to 3 degrees each. Emory & Henry University graduates 56% at $35,280, Hampton University graduates 57% at $29,162, and the University of Management and Technology in Arlington, a for-profit, charges $9,450, graduates 33% and teaches online.
So prices run from $9,450 to $38,320, graduation rates from 32% to 68%, and the public option is also the largest, the best-completing and the second-cheapest. Non-residents pay $37,979 at George Mason, which puts it in the same range as the private colleges for anyone from outside Virginia.
The 2 Best General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Virginia
The best general studies bachelor's degrees in Virginia 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 Virginia. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.
1
George Mason University
Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Studies
Virginia
71.1- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 68%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $13,815 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 136
About the Program
Your concentration does the job of a major in this degree, and the catalog says so directly, calling it the equivalent of a major. You choose from established options such as Legal Studies, Childhood Studies, or Leadership and Organizational Development, or you build an individualized concentration of 30 credits with faculty. That second route needs the executive director's approval.
Every major takes a course on understanding integrative studies and finishes with the senior capstone. You complete at least 30 credits of INTS coursework, at least 15 of them at the 300 and 400 levels, and the catalog describes learning that includes in-community projects, field work, internships and work with faculty on research. Those 30 INTS credits also fulfill the writing intensive and synthesis Mason Core requirements, so the same courses do double duty inside your 120 credits.
Grades in the major carry a floor: you need a minimum GPA of 2.00 across the courses applied to it. Study abroad counts, but with a cap, because a maximum of 15 credits of study abroad coursework can be applied to the major. You'll also complete Advanced Composition, so plan on a writing course on top of the writing the INTS credits already ask of you.
Legal Studies and Social Science for Education both point somewhere specific after the BA. With advanced planning, Legal Studies can make you eligible for an accelerated law degree through Mason's Scalia Law School. Social Science for Education meets Virginia Department of Education content-area requirements, and qualified students can apply to earn the BA and an MEd in Curriculum and Instruction within five years, which is why the concentration choice deserves an early decision.
2
Ferrum College
Virginia
8.4- Private nonprofit
- College graduation rate
- 32%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $38,320 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 13
About the Program
Ferrum College is a private nonprofit college in Ferrum, Virginia that enrolls 763 students. Some 13 bachelor's degrees were conferred in the last year on record, a bigger output than 9% of the programs ranked alongside it. A 32% graduation rate puts the college at the 11th percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Every student pays $38,320 a year in tuition and fees, since the institution sets one rate. Getting in is not automatic, because 89% of applicants are admitted. Strongest of its measures is the graduation rate of its college, which lands at the 11th percentile.
Other General Studies Bachelor's Degrees in Virginia
The other general studies bachelor's degrees in Virginia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emory & Henry University, Emory | 3 | 56% | $35,280 |
| Hampton University, Hampton | 3 | 57% | $29,162 |
| University of Management and Technology, Arlington | 1 | 33% | $9,450 |
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 Virginia?
A general studies bachelor's degree in Virginia costs a median of $29,162 a year in tuition and required fees for 2023-24 across the five programs, which is Hampton University's price. George Mason charges Virginia residents $13,815 and non-residents $37,979. The University of Management and Technology lists $9,450 for everyone, Emory & Henry $35,280 and Ferrum College $38,320. For a resident, George Mason costs less than half the median, and a Virginia student weighing Ferrum against George Mason is looking at a $24,505 difference a year for a program that graduates less than half the share.
The state money at this level is the Two-Year College Transfer Grant, which Virginia's Community Colleges describe as up to $3,000 annually for qualifying students who complete their associate degree at a Virginia two-year public college and then transfer to a participating Virginia four-year college or university. You need an associate degree with a 3.0 grade-point average and must meet financial eligibility requirements, and the grant is applied to tuition at a four-year Virginia college or university, either public or private, so it can follow you to George Mason or Ferrum if they participate. Ask each before you count on it.
How Does Credit Transfer Into a General Studies Bachelor's Degree in Virginia?
Credit transfers into a general studies bachelor's degree in Virginia most reliably through a Guaranteed Admissions Agreement, under which students who graduate from one of Virginia's 23 community colleges with an associate degree and a minimum grade point average may obtain guaranteed admission to more than 30 of the commonwealth's colleges and universities. Every one of those agreements requires students to complete a transfer associate degree, so a general studies associate counts only if your community college awarded it under that designation. Ask George Mason whether a GAA covers its Integrative Studies degree and what GPA it sets.
The statewide agreements include one with the University of Virginia's Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies, a completion degree that a general studies associate graduate can enter through a GAA even though UVA isn't among the five programs on this page. If you left community college with credits but no degree, the 32-credit Uniform Certificate of General Studies, earned at a Virginia community college, is guaranteed to transfer to all public and most private colleges in Virginia, and it settles the general education part of a bachelor's wherever you land.
Ferrum, Emory & Henry, Hampton and the University of Management and Technology are private, so ask each whether it has signed a GAA, how it treats the UCGS, and how many credits beyond general education it applies to the major.
What Do Jobs With a General Studies Bachelor's Degree Pay in Virginia?
Jobs open to a general studies bachelor's degree in Virginia 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 Virginia
To choose a general studies bachelor's degree program in Virginia, start with George Mason's Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Studies and ask whether anything else beats it on the measure you care about, because for a Virginia resident it costs $13,815, graduates 68% of its students, runs online and awards 136 degrees a year. Hampton and Emory & Henry graduate 57% and 56% but charge $29,162 and $35,280 and award three degrees each. Ferrum charges $38,320 for a 32% graduation rate. The University of Management and Technology is cheaper at $9,450 and online, with one graduate in the latest year and a 33% graduation rate.
If you're coming from a Virginia community college, bring a transfer associate degree and a 3.0, because the first unlocks a Guaranteed Admissions Agreement and the second unlocks the $3,000-a-year Transfer Grant. Ask George Mason how Integrative Studies differs from a general studies degree in practice, since the federal data files it under general studies, and ask any private college for its transfer policy in writing. The national bachelor's ranking shows where 71.1 and 8.4 sit.
If you're starting with an associate degree, the general studies associate degrees in Virginia have their own page.