2025 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota

Liberal Arts General Studies is of the hottest associate degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #1 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 3 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 151 associate degrees in liberal arts general studies to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Liberal Arts General Studies School for Your Associate Degree

The liberal arts associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality liberal arts program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on liberal arts general studies students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of liberal arts general studies students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for liberal arts general studies to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized liberal arts general studies related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for liberal arts general studies students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Liberal Arts General Studies in South Dakota

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for liberal arts general studies students seeking a an associate degree.

Top South Dakota Schools for an Associate in Liberal Arts

1

South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD

66 Annual Graduates

$20,704 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in liberal arts general studies needs to check out South Dakota State University. South Dakota State is a large public university located in the remote town of Brookings.

Students who graduate with their associate from the liberal arts program state that they receive average early career income of $20,704.

More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from South Dakota State University

2

Dakota State University
Madison, SD

15 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Dakota State University if you want to pursue an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Dakota State is a small public university located in the town of Madison.More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from Dakota State University

3

University of South Dakota
Vermillion, SD

18 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of South Dakota if you want to pursue an associate degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the town of Vermillion, USD is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a associate in liberal arts general studies from University of South Dakota

Best Liberal Arts General Studies Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Colleges in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Minnesota	151	6,170
Kansas	146	5,695
Missouri	117	6,940
Iowa	116	5,487
Nebraska	98	1,161
North Dakota	92	778

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Rankings in Majors Related to Liberal Arts

One of 0 majors within the Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities area of study, Liberal Arts General Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Liberal Arts Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
General Studies	151

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard). More about our data sources and methodologies.