Saint Joseph's University 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 university
- Philadelphia, PA
- About 10 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Saint Joseph's University liberal arts and general studies graduates earn more than graduates of most liberal arts and general studies programs nationally, $53,766 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $43,575 in federal loans, more than at 97% of liberal arts and general studies programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying liberal arts and general studies degrees in Pennsylvania.
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, Saint Joseph's University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $18,978 more 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 32% 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 $462 a month, or 10.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
67% of graduates (20 of 30) were working in Pennsylvania one year after graduating. Prices in the Philadelphia area are about 3% above the national average, so a $53,766 salary here buys what about $52,427 buys in a typical US city.
About Saint Joseph's University
Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 10th of 22 bachelor's programs at Saint Joseph's University by first-year earnings. The top three are Accounting ($69,807), Insurance ($66,523), and Finance ($66,072).
Other liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs near Philadelphia
Common questions
The median graduate earns $53,766 one year after graduating and $70,905 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 $43,575, which ranks 10th lowest of 10 liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania. That works out to about $462 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 81% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%. Compare the cost with other Pennsylvania programs before deciding.
Most do. 67% (20 of 30) 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