Thomas Edison State 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
- Trenton, NJ
- About 352 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Thomas Edison State University liberal arts and general studies graduates earn more than graduates of most liberal arts and general studies programs nationally, $49,779 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $19,766 in federal loans, less than at 86% of liberal arts and general studies programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying liberal arts and general studies degrees in New Jersey.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New Jersey and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Thomas Edison State University graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the New Jersey median.
Debt and first-year pay at every New Jersey liberal arts and general studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New Jersey 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 10% 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 $12,245 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 $210 a month, or 5.1% 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, 53 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $10,362.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
40% of graduates (104 of 259) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating. Prices in the Trenton area are about 3% above the national average, so a $49,779 salary here buys what about $48,245 buys in a typical US city.
About Thomas Edison State University
Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 8th of 9 bachelor's programs at Thomas Edison State University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($95,053), Other Interdisciplinary Studies ($88,629), and Other Health Professions ($72,628).
Other liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs near Trenton
Common questions
The median graduate earns $49,779 one year after graduating and $54,955 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in New Jersey is $38,032.
The median federal loan balance is $19,766, which ranks the lowest of 12 liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in New Jersey. That works out to about $210 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 40% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less.
Many leave. 40% (104 of 259) were working in New Jersey 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 Jersey 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