Morehead State Liberal Arts and General Studies (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
  • Public university
  • Morehead, KY
  • About 140 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Morehead State liberal arts and general studies graduates earn less than graduates of most liberal arts and general studies programs nationally, $30,055 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $28,902 in federal loans, close to the national median of $27,000. Several Kentucky programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$30,05519th percentile of 395 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$39,85733% more than year one
Median federal debt$28,9025th lowest of 8 Kentucky programs
Debt-to-earnings96%Kentucky median 84%, national 73%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Kentucky and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.

Five years out, Morehead State graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Kentucky median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Kentucky liberal arts and general studies program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Kentucky medians.

Morehead StateOther Kentucky programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 33% between the first and fifth year.

Morehead State grads, year 1$30,055
Morehead State grads, year 5$39,857
All Kentucky liberal arts and general studies grads, year 5$40,105

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $4,345 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$29,483Median debt $30,000
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$33,828Median debt $20,636

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $306 a month, or 12.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 29 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $11,656.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

85% of graduates (116 of 137) were working in Kentucky one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Kentucky outside metro areas are about 15% below the national average, so a $30,055 salary here buys what about $35,254 buys in a typical US city.

About Morehead State

Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 20th of 27 bachelor's programs at Morehead State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($70,523), Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($64,504), and Engineering-Related Fields ($62,330).

Other liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs near Morehead

Common questions

The median graduate earns $30,055 one year after graduating and $39,857 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Kentucky is $35,025.

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 Kentucky 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

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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