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

Southside Virginia Community College reports the lowest median federal debt, $5,500, with first-year pay of $25,214.

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

The median across 18 Virginia liberal arts and general studies certificate programs is $23,933 in the first year after graduating and $39,864 five years after.

Liberal Arts and General Studies (Certificate) Programs in Virginia, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many liberal arts and general studies certificate programs are in Virginia?

18 Virginia programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 15 of them also report federal debt.

18 programs report first-year pay
15 also report federal debt
Certificate in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Virginia liberal arts and general studies certificate program pays its graduates $23,933 in their first year, $3,222 less than the national median. Tidewater Community College reports the highest first-year pay ($31,688), and Southside Virginia Community College the lowest median debt ($5,500).

Median first-year pay$23,933National $27,154

Median pay after 5 years$39,864National $43,480

Median federal debt$9,125National $9,375

Debt-to-earnings34%National 35%

All 18 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	Tidewater Community CollegeNorfolk · public	$31,688	Not reported	$14,942	47%
2	Virginia Peninsula Community CollegeHampton · public	$31,228	$38,878	$10,375	33%
3	Piedmont Virginia Community CollegeCharlottesville · public	$28,910	$38,908	$9,250	32%
4	Germanna Community CollegeLocust Grove · public	$26,037	$44,041	$8,187	31%
5	New River Community CollegeDublin · public	$25,798	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
6	Brightpoint Community CollegeChester · public	$25,451	$43,480	$8,750	34%
7	Southside Virginia Community CollegeAlberta · public	$25,214	Not reported	$5,500	22%
8	J Sargeant Reynolds Community CollegeRichmond · public	$24,780	$39,908	$11,000	44%
9	Northern Virginia Community CollegeAnnandale · public	$24,353	$46,146	$10,750	44%
10	Rappahannock Community CollegeGlenns · public	$23,512	$39,864	$6,333	27%
11	Blue Ridge Community College (Virginia)Weyers Cave · public	$23,329	$40,569	$8,250	35%
12	Virginia Western Community CollegeRoanoke · public	$22,692	$34,934	$11,075	49%
13	Patrick & Henry Community CollegeMartinsville · public	$22,039	$37,607	$7,500	34%
14	Wytheville Community CollegeWytheville · public	$21,085	$34,515	$9,375	44%
15	Central Virginia Community CollegeLynchburg · public	$18,625	Not reported	$9,705	52%
16	Mountain Empire Community CollegeBig Stone Gap · public	$16,029	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
17	Virginia Highlands Community CollegeAbingdon · public	$15,962	Not reported	$5,500	34%
18	Laurel Ridge Community CollegeMiddletown · public	$15,637	$44,289	Not reported	Not reported

New River Community College, Mountain Empire Community College, and Laurel Ridge Community College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay. One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia liberal arts and general studies program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Virginia medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 15 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Tidewater Community College$31,688
Virginia Peninsula Community College$31,228
Piedmont Virginia Community College$28,910
Germanna Community College$26,037
New River Community College$25,798

Lowest median debt

Southside Virginia Community College$5,500
Virginia Highlands Community College$5,500
Rappahannock Community College$6,333
Patrick & Henry Community College$7,500
Germanna Community College$8,187

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

Tidewater Community College in Norfolk reports the highest median first-year pay, $31,688. Its median federal debt is $14,942.

Liberal Arts and General Studies (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked65 programs by pay and debt Liberal Arts and General Studies (Bachelor's) programs in Virginia, ranked11 programs by pay and debt Liberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's) programs in Virginia, ranked20 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 Virginia rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the liberal arts and general studies certificate 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