MIT Liberal Arts and General Studies (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
- Private nonprofit school
- Cambridge, MA
- About 11 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
MIT liberal arts and general studies graduates earn more than graduates of most liberal arts and general studies programs nationally, $103,135 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $11,935 in federal loans, less than at 99% of liberal arts and general studies programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying liberal arts and general studies degrees in Massachusetts.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Massachusetts and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts liberal arts and general studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Massachusetts medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates. They also borrowed less. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $127 a month, or 1.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
29% of graduates (78 of 271) were working in Massachusetts one year after graduating. Prices in the Boston area are about 8% above the national average, so a $103,135 salary here buys what about $95,261 buys in a typical US city.
About MIT
Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 5th of 12 bachelor's programs at MIT by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($154,492), Mathematics and Computer Science ($126,153), and Electrical Engineering ($117,345).
Other liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs near Cambridge
Common questions
The median graduate earns $103,135 one year after graduating. The median across liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Massachusetts is $39,141.
The median federal loan balance is $11,935, which ranks the lowest of 12 liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Massachusetts. That works out to about $127 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 12% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%.
Many leave. 29% (78 of 271) were working in Massachusetts one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Massachusetts comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the liberal arts and general studies program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024