Southeastern Louisiana 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
- Hammond, LA
- About 188 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Southeastern Louisiana University liberal arts and general studies graduates earn about what liberal arts and general studies graduates earn nationally, $33,705 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $26,541 in federal loans, close to the national median of $27,000. Several Louisiana programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Louisiana and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Southeastern Louisiana University graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Louisiana median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Louisiana liberal arts and general studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Louisiana 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 33% 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 $5,016 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. 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 $281 a month, or 10.0% 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, 48 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $8,956.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
84% of graduates (204 of 244) were working in Louisiana one year after graduating. Prices in the Hammond area are about 16% below the national average, so a $33,705 salary here buys what about $39,906 buys in a typical US city.
About Southeastern Louisiana University
Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 16th of 27 bachelor's programs at Southeastern Louisiana University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($73,910), Computer Science ($57,961), and Computer and Information Science ($55,786).
Other liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs near Hammond
Common questions
The median graduate earns $33,705 one year after graduating and $44,723 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Louisiana is $32,688.
The median federal loan balance is $26,541, which ranks 3rd lowest of 9 liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Louisiana. That works out to about $281 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 79% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%. Compare the cost with other Louisiana programs before deciding.
Most do. 84% (204 of 244) were working in Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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