The New School 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
- New York, NY
- About 71 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
The New School liberal arts and general studies graduates earn less than graduates of most liberal arts and general studies programs nationally, $27,701 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $26,750 in federal loans, close to the national median of $27,000. Several New York programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, The New School graduates earn less than the national figure and about $6,686 less than the New York median.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York liberal arts and general studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York medians.
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 50% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $284 a month, or 12.3% 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, 30 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $39,139.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
50% of graduates (35 of 70) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $27,701 salary here buys what about $24,609 buys in a typical US city.
About The New School
Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 5th of 13 bachelor's programs at The New School by first-year earnings. The top three are Arts Management ($37,743), Psychology ($34,033), and Radio, TV, and Digital Media ($32,169).
Other liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs near New York
Common questions
The median graduate earns $27,701 one year after graduating and $41,609 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in New York is $35,817.
The median federal loan balance is $26,750, which ranks 15th lowest of 20 liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $284 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 97% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%. Compare the cost with other New York programs before deciding.
Most do. 50% (35 of 70) were working in New York 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 New York 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