Which New York liberal arts and general studies program has the lowest debt?

Excelsior University reports the lowest median federal debt, $11,875, with first-year pay of $52,429.

How much do liberal arts and general studies graduates earn in New York?

The median across 22 New York liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs is $35,817 in the first year after graduating and $48,295 five years after.

Liberal Arts and General Studies (Bachelor's) Programs in New York, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs are in New York?

22 New York programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 20 of them also report federal debt.

22 programs report first-year pay
20 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median New York liberal arts and general studies bachelor's program pays its graduates $35,817 in their first year, $340 less than the national median. Molloy University reports the highest first-year pay ($74,868), and Excelsior University the lowest median debt ($11,875).

Median first-year pay$35,817National $36,157

Median pay after 5 years$48,295National $48,575

Median federal debt$24,917National $27,000

Debt-to-earnings73%National 73%

All 22 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Molloy UniversityRockville Centre · private nonprofit	$74,868	Not reported	$31,000	41%
2	Excelsior UniversityAlbany · private nonprofit	$52,429	$64,828	$11,875	23%
3	Mercy UniversityDobbs Ferry · private nonprofit	$46,408	Not reported	$33,687	73%
4	Cornell UniversityIthaca · private nonprofit	$46,072	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
5	Union CollegeSchenectady · private nonprofit	$45,516	$49,183	$24,500	54%
6	City College of New YorkNew York · public	$43,059	$52,617	$12,985	30%
7	NYUNew York · private nonprofit	$38,447	$68,008	$21,787	57%
8	St. Joseph's University-New YorkBrooklyn · private nonprofit	$38,090	$41,232	$26,625	70%
9	SUNY CortlandCortland · public	$37,940	$50,640	$28,150	74%
10	Medgar Evers CollegeBrooklyn · public	$37,808	$39,472	$13,797	36%
11	RITRochester · private nonprofit	$36,318	$45,964	$28,000	77%
12	Vassar CollegePoughkeepsie · private nonprofit	$35,316	Not reported	$18,652	53%
13	Buffalo StateBuffalo · public	$32,082	$41,463	$27,000	84%
14	SUNY PlattsburghPlattsburgh · public	$30,318	$42,559	$26,500	87%
15	Roberts Wesleyan UniversityRochester · private nonprofit	$30,102	Not reported	$23,236	77%
16	The New SchoolNew York · private nonprofit	$27,701	$41,609	$26,750	97%
17	SUNY Old WestburyOld Westbury · public	$27,165	Not reported	$24,833	91%
18	College of Staten IslandStaten Island · public	$25,967	$67,334	$13,995	54%
19	Sarah Lawrence CollegeBronxville · private nonprofit	$25,846	$42,672	$24,245	94%
20	Pace UniversityNew York · private nonprofit	$25,595	Not reported	$25,229	99%
21	SUNY Purchase CollegePurchase · public	$25,197	$44,688	$25,000	99%
22	Baruch CollegeNew York · public	$21,170	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported

Cornell University and Baruch College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay. 4 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

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 the 20 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Molloy University$74,868
Excelsior University$52,429
Mercy University$46,408
Cornell University$46,072
Union College$45,516

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Common questions

Molloy University in Rockville Centre reports the highest median first-year pay, $74,868. Its median federal debt is $31,000.

Liberal Arts and General Studies (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked395 programs by pay and debt Liberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's) programs in New York, ranked46 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024