Pennsylvania Western University 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
- California, PA
- About 149 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Pennsylvania Western University liberal arts and general studies graduates earn about what liberal arts and general studies graduates earn nationally, $33,573 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $33,280 in federal loans, more than at 90% of liberal arts and general studies programs in the country. Several Pennsylvania programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Pennsylvania and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Pennsylvania Western University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $10,342 less than the Pennsylvania median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Pennsylvania liberal arts and general studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Pennsylvania 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 24% between the first and fifth year.
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 $3,261 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $353 a month, or 12.6% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
79% of graduates (200 of 254) were working in Pennsylvania one year after graduating. Prices in the Pittsburgh area are about 5% below the national average, so a $33,573 salary here buys what about $35,463 buys in a typical US city.
About Pennsylvania Western University
Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 20th of 33 bachelor's programs at Pennsylvania Western University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($70,857), Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($48,822), and Accounting ($48,418).
Other liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs near California
Common questions
The median graduate earns $33,573 one year after graduating and $41,585 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania is $33,573.
The median federal loan balance is $33,280, which ranks 8th lowest of 10 liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania. That works out to about $353 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 99% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%. Compare the cost with other Pennsylvania programs before deciding.
Most do. 79% (200 of 254) were working in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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