Give Coursework From Several Subjects an Academic Direction
Online Liberal Studies Degree Completion Programs
Online liberal studies degree completion programs are worth comparing when your college record spans several subjects or unfinished majors. Look at where your transfer credits belong in the bachelor’s: general education, electives, a concentration and advanced work each have a different role.
Compare Liberal Studies Degree Completion Programs by Electives and Concentration
This guide includes liberal, general and professional studies degrees under their actual names. Some organize your earlier courses into an emphasis; others ask you to propose an interdisciplinary concentration or document professional learning. Choose the structure you want to complete as well as the credit you want to preserve.
SNHU combines elective space with a planning course and concentration. Ball State uses minors or emphasis areas. Charter Oak asks for a counselor-developed, faculty-approved concentration, while TESU keeps a liberal arts focus. Monroe adds professional learning and a specialization, and UMGC sets subject-distribution rules. Those structures give a mixed transcript different ways to become a coherent degree.
This shortlist includes 20 online degree offerings at 20 colleges. Compare transfer credit policies with the requirements of your chosen major. Check each program’s schedule and any laboratory, fieldwork, or campus commitments before enrolling.
How we select programs
We compare elective space, concentrations or emphasis areas, upper-level requirements and the review of professional learning. Each profile follows the exact degree named by the school. An individual evaluation determines how earlier courses fit that structure and which academic work remains.
Build an emphasis from your earlier courseworkOnline
Transfer Credits
Previous coursework is evaluated after application. Courses from regionally accredited colleges with a C or better usually transfer; vocational and remedial courses do not.
Submit official academic transcripts for degree-completion admission and transfer evaluation.
The programs, with context
Online Liberal Studies Degree Programs and Transfer Credit Requirements
Substantial Elective Space and a Planning Course
Southern New Hampshire University
Bachelor of Arts in General Studies
OnlineDegree completion route
SNHU puts 63 elective credits into its 120-credit General Studies BA, making it a useful comparison for someone with coursework spread across several subjects. A 3-credit planning course helps connect that previous study with a focused 12-credit concentration. Concentration choices include business administration, communication and psychology. The program is designed for students bringing earlier college credits and uses 8-week online terms.
Before you apply: SNHU permits up to 90 transfer credits and requires at least 30 credits at the university. Elective space does not guarantee acceptance: the evaluation must also address general education, concentration and planning-course requirements.
Where You Start
Apply online, complete the required attestation form, and submit a transcript request for each previous college. Confirm any additional requirements for your program.
Ball State lets you organize the Bachelor of General Studies around minors, emphasis areas or a combination of both. A student success specialist reviews whether previous courses can form an emphasis, giving your transcript a direct role in the plan. The curriculum includes 54–60 elective credits alongside the university core and 30–36 credits of minors or emphasis areas. Courses are fully online and asynchronous.
Before you apply: Your emphasis is determined through review, so ask for a written plan showing how each earlier course applies. Tuition also depends on course load: part-time students pay per credit, while 12–18 credits use a flat rate.
Previous coursework is evaluated after application. Courses from regionally accredited colleges with a C or better usually transfer; vocational and remedial courses do not.
Degree Requirements
120 total credits, including the university core, minors or emphasis areas, and electives.
Published Tuition
Part-time study, 1–11 credits: $336 per credit in state or $561 out of state. Full-time tuition uses a flat rate; online course and technology fees are additional.
Study Schedule
100% online, asynchronous courses; start in fall, spring or summer.
More About the Curriculum +
Areas of study:Choose a combination of minors and emphasis areas totaling 30–36 credits.
Electives:The plan includes 54–60 elective credits.
Transcript review:An advisor reviews whether your previous courses can form an emphasis area.
Charter Oak's Individualized Studies concentration gives you a way to connect at least two areas of study in one General Studies BS. You develop the plan and its rationale with an academic counselor, then obtain faculty approval. The concentration requires at least 36 credits, including 18 at the upper level. That structure is useful when you want previous courses to contribute to a connected academic focus.
Before you apply: The individualized plan still has breadth and depth requirements. The full bachelor's requires at least 120 credits, including 30 upper-level credits and 30 liberal arts credits. Start the approval conversation early in your first semester.
TESU's Liberal Studies BA provides a recognizable liberal arts structure for earlier courses in subjects such as humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Its 120-credit curriculum includes 45 general education credits and 42 liberal studies credits, with an optional 18-credit concentration. A capstone connects the academic work. You can submit college transcripts and eligible exam, training or credential records for evaluation.
Before you apply: TESU's stated community college allowance is up to 90 credits. That is a credit-source rule, so compare the resulting degree evaluation rather than treating 90 as a promise. Standard admission begins at age 20; younger applicants follow additional criteria.
Connect Professional Learning With a Specialization
Monroe University
Bachelor of Science in Professional Studies
OnlineDegree completion route
Monroe's Professional Studies BS is a useful comparison when your record includes employment, training or professional learning as well as college courses. A support team helps assemble a prior learning portfolio for review. You choose a specialization and complete a curriculum combining that area with general education and electives. The final integrative capstone includes a research project and ePortfolio.
Before you apply: Prior learning credit depends on the relevance, substance and extent of the learning you can document. The 120-credit degree permits up to 90 transfer credits, with at least 30 credits completed at Monroe. Ask how the portfolio fits your chosen specialization.
Where You Start
High school diploma or equivalent, or a recognized associate degree or higher; application and personal statement or essay.
Transfer Credits
Up to 90 transfer credits. Prior learning is evaluated for relevance, substance and extent.
Degree Requirements
120 total credits; at least 30 credits must be completed at Monroe.
Study Schedule
Online option available.
More About the Curriculum +
Prior learning:A support team helps you compile a portfolio of college coursework, training, employment and community experience.
Specializations:Options include Information Technology Management, Human Services Administration and Public Health Management.
Final project:The integrative capstone combines a career-focused research project with an ePortfolio.
UMGC's General Studies BS gives a varied transcript a defined structure: two 6-credit groups in different fields, further major coursework and a capstone. Its 120-credit curriculum also includes 49 elective credits. All courses are available online. The major's distribution rules make it possible to ask precise questions about whether your previous study is sufficiently broad and where additional coursework belongs.
Before you apply: Complete 30 credits at UMGC, including 15 upper-level credits. General Studies is exempt from the university's half-major residency rule, but the other degree requirements remain. UMGC does not offer this major as a second bachelor's degree.
Where You Start
Meet UMGC undergraduate admission requirements, including a high school diploma or equivalent and English proficiency. Recent college applicants are also assessed on their academic standing.
Transfer Credits
Up to 90 credits from four-year schools or 70 credits from two-year schools; official transcripts are evaluated after application.
Degree Requirements
120 total credits. Complete 30 credits at UMGC, normally the final 30, including 15 upper-level credits.
Published Tuition
$337 per credit for Maryland residents; $499 per credit for out-of-state students. Other fees may apply.
Study Schedule
All courses are available online, with spring, summer and fall courses.
More About the Curriculum +
Curriculum balance:The degree includes 30 major credits, 41 general education credits and 49 elective credits.
Major breadth:Study at least two fields; no more than 21 credits in a single discipline can apply to the major.
First bachelor's degree:General Studies may not be selected as a second bachelor's degree.
ASU leaves much of the Liberal Studies BA open to electives while anchoring the degree with two core courses. If your credits span several majors, compare how they fit the humanities and social science distribution before choosing a minor or certificate. The remaining plan can develop several interests within one degree.
Before you apply: The community-college transfer limits differ by the source of your credits. Ask ASU to apply the policy for your sending institution.
Excelsior's Liberal Arts BS is useful to examine when your transcript contains substantial coursework outside a single major. The plan without a concentration has a large elective component alongside general education and a small major core. You can also choose Logistics Management if you want the remaining work to address supply chains and distribution.
Before you apply: The transfer maximum is 113 credits, but your evaluation still needs to satisfy the core and other degree requirements.
National combines broad study with a focus area made up of courses sharing a subject prefix. That gives scattered previous credits two possible roles: academic breadth and a more concentrated area of study. The General Studies capstone then asks you to connect that work in a final project, which can include a career-focused digital portfolio.
Before you apply: Confirm how your accepted credits meet the upper-division, breadth and focus-area requirements before choosing your remaining courses.
Fort Hays State combines a broad liberal arts and sciences foundation with a concentration approved through advising. The concentration provides a defined direction for earlier coursework that might otherwise become unrelated electives. Bring your transcript to the BGS advisor and compare the concentration requirements with the advanced classes you still need.
Before you apply: The 80-credit liberal arts and sciences requirement matters if much of your earlier study was technical or vocational.
Where You Start
Transfer admission follows FHSU's published requirements for applicants with previous college coursework.
Degree Requirements
The degree requires 120 credits, including 45 upper-division credits and 30 credits from FHSU.
More About the Curriculum +
Concentration:Students complete an approved 21-credit area of concentration.
Liberal Arts and Sciences:At least 80 credits must come from the designated liberal arts and sciences disciplines.
Advanced Coursework:The degree includes 45 upper-division credits.
Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts
OnlineTransfer entry route
Colorado State pairs interdisciplinary liberal arts with an approved minor. Your remaining courses therefore need to serve both breadth and a focused subject area. The upper-division breadth component spans at least two disciplines and cannot double-count toward the minor, making a course-by-course review especially useful before registration.
Before you apply: The capstone requires senior standing. Plan the minor, upper-division breadth and final seminar together.
Where You Start
Transfer applicants follow CSU's undergraduate entry requirements, including its transfer mathematics requirement.
Degree Requirements
The degree requires 120 credits, including 42 upper-division credits and 30 upper-division credits through CSU.
More About the Curriculum +
Minor:An approved academic minor provides focused study alongside the liberal arts requirements.
Breadth:Fifteen upper-division arts, humanities or social science credits span at least two disciplines and remain separate from the minor.
Capstone:The Liberal Arts Capstone Seminar requires senior standing.
Holy Apostles offers a structured Catholic liberal arts degree with theology and philosophy alongside literature, history and science. It is a fit to consider when you want those subjects to remain central to the degree you finish. The published degree plan makes the core and major distribution visible for a transfer-credit discussion.
Before you apply: Ask specifically about transferred theology and philosophy courses; the degree plan restricts the schools from which those courses can be accepted.
Arkansas State's General Studies degree is designed for students bringing previous coursework or professional experience. You select two areas of emphasis with an advisor, then connect them through professional-development work. That structure gives mixed credits a planned destination while keeping the awarded credential a Bachelor of General Studies.
Before you apply: Have the advisor show which earlier courses satisfy each emphasis, rather than relying on the overall transfer total.
Where You Start
The program is designed for students with previous coursework or professional experience who want to complete a bachelor's degree.
Transfer Credits
Up to 90 eligible credits can transfer.
Degree Requirements
The degree requires 120 credits.
More About the Curriculum +
Two Emphases:An advisor helps you select two areas of emphasis within the degree.
Professional Development:Required study includes critical thinking, professional development and leadership.
Degree Structure:The published plan combines general education, required major coursework and elective credits.
LSU Shreveport organizes its online General Studies degree around Applied and Social Sciences, with enrichment work in other fields. The concentration can bring earlier business, technical or social science coursework into a coherent plan. Upper-level study and the General Studies Seminar remain important even when many credits transfer.
Before you apply: The overall transfer maximum is 90 credits, but no more than 60 may come from two-year institutions.
For an Asynchronous Liberal Studies Completion Route
East Carolina University
Bachelor of Science in Multidisciplinary Studies, Liberal Studies
OnlineDegree completion route
East Carolina's Flight Path Liberal Studies option brings ethical reasoning, social understanding and research into an online completion degree. Optional minors let you add a focus while retaining the broader Multidisciplinary Studies award. Use the transfer evaluation to separate courses that meet the interdisciplinary core from credits that fit electives.
Before you apply: The optional minor is part of the larger degree plan; include its remaining courses when discussing your capstone and graduation schedule.
UT Permian Basin's Humanities BA combines cultural study with a concentration developed alongside a faculty advisor. Literature, history, art and communication give you several ways to connect earlier coursework. The approved concentration and senior project make that flexibility a planned academic program rather than an unrestricted collection of electives.
Before you apply: Courses use both eight-week and full-semester formats. Check when your remaining concentration courses will be offered.
Where You Start
Transfer applicants need at least 24 transferable credits and a minimum 2.0 GPA; applicants with fewer credits follow freshman admission requirements.
Degree Requirements
The Humanities BA requires 120 credits.
More About the Curriculum +
Humanities Core:The core draws from literature, history, art, communication and music.
Concentration:A 24-credit concentration is planned with a faculty advisor.
Senior Project:The degree includes a senior capstone project arranged with the advisor.
Nebraska at Kearney gives General Studies students two ways to distribute their academic focus: three areas of study, or a larger area paired with a second. That lets you compare more than one arrangement of earlier credits with the designated advisor. Advanced coursework and the capstone remain part of either approved plan.
Before you apply: Each distribution area requires a 2.5 GPA. Ask which transferred courses meet those areas and the upper-division requirement.
Where You Start
Students with previous college coursework can apply through UNK's transfer admission process.
Memphis builds its Liberal Studies degree around two academic areas and a final review of what you have learned. The senior project can bring coursework together in a portfolio, research paper or other detailed report. For a returning student, that makes the relationship between earlier study and the final degree part of the academic work.
Before you apply: The graduation plan must be approved before you receive permission for the senior course.
Where You Start
The online Liberal Studies degree is designed for adult learners and can incorporate applicable previous college credits.
Degree Requirements
The degree requires at least 120 credits.
More About the Curriculum +
Two Academic Areas:Students combine courses from two distinct academic fields.
Bachelor of General Studies in Liberal Arts and Sciences
OnlineDegree completion route
Kansas offers an online General Studies bachelor's in Liberal Arts and Sciences for students returning to college or building on previous coursework. The program combines broad subject areas with career preparation and interdisciplinary research. That gives students with varied credits a way to discuss an academically connected finish with an online transfer specialist.
Before you apply: The completion schedule depends on your earlier coursework and the approved course plan.
Fresno Pacific's Liberal Arts BA offers an accelerated completion major with a fully online option. The curriculum has a strong education focus while covering history, art, language and literature. Returning students should compare the lower-division prerequisites with their transcript and choose a concentration before joining the major's cohort sequence.
Before you apply: Confirm authorization in your state and complete the prerequisite review before enrolling in the online cohort.
Where You Start
Submit official academic transcripts for degree-completion admission and transfer evaluation.
More About the Curriculum +
University Major Courses:The program identifies 34 required units to be completed at Fresno Pacific.
Concentrations:Students choose Education, Science or Special Education.
Research and Breadth:Required work includes a senior research seminar, California history, language acquisition and children's literature.
Organize your previous college credits in the degree planner, then take your course list and questions to a school’s transfer advisor. The school’s evaluation determines which credits count toward your degree.
Where Can Transfer Credits Fit in a Liberal Studies Degree?
SNHU’s General Studies BA lists 63 elective credits; Ball State’s BGS lists 54–60; UMGC’s General Studies BS lists 49. These figures describe space in the curriculum. An evaluator still needs to decide which of your courses fill that space and which meet general education, the concentration or another requirement.
Bring transcripts from every college rather than selecting only the courses that seem related to the new major. Ask for a transfer-credit evaluation that separates the courses applied to the degree from any accepted credits left outside it. Then compare the advanced work still required. Elective capacity is useful when it serves your record and academic direction together.
How Do You Build an Approved Concentration or Emphasis?
Charter Oak’s Individualized Studies concentration spans at least two areas and requires a rationale, counselor planning and faculty approval. Its upper-level work gives the concentration academic depth. Ball State uses minors, emphasis areas or a combination, with a student success specialist reviewing how earlier courses can form an emphasis.
Write down the subjects that connect your previous study and the work you want to pursue academically. Discuss the advanced courses still needed to make that connection convincing. SNHU’s planning course and concentration provide another structure for the conversation. Approval, required subjects and the final project should be visible before you treat a proposed plan as complete.
Where Can Professional Learning Fit a General or Professional Studies Degree?
Monroe’s Professional Studies program reviews a prior learning portfolio and connects the degree with a chosen specialization. Its final integrative capstone includes a research project and ePortfolio. TESU accepts eligible examination, training and credential records for evaluation within its Liberal Studies route. The evidence needs to show learning that the receiving college can apply to its curriculum.
Keep that review alongside the college transcript evaluation. Identify the course, training or assessed learning you want considered and ask which degree requirement it would satisfy. If your earlier qualification was an applied associate degree, include its technical coursework in the discussion rather than assuming every broad studies program uses it in the same way.
Questions About Liberal Studies Degree Completion Programs
How Do Liberal, General and Professional Studies Degrees Differ?+
The names belong to different curricula. TESU’s Liberal Studies BA has a liberal arts structure. SNHU’s General Studies BA combines elective space with a planning course and concentration. Monroe’s Professional Studies BS uses a specialization and reviews professional learning. Compare the actual requirements under the degree title each university awards.
Can Credits From Several Unfinished Majors Fit One Bachelor’s Degree?+
Request an evaluation of the complete record. SNHU and Ball State publish substantial elective space, while Charter Oak offers an approved individualized concentration. Ask which courses fill the chosen structure and which upper-level, concentration or general education requirements remain. A mixed transcript still needs a complete academic plan.
Can I Design My Own General Studies Concentration?+
Charter Oak permits an individualized concentration developed with an academic counselor and approved by faculty. It must include at least two areas of study and specified upper-level work. The rationale explains how those subjects connect, so start that conversation before deciding which advanced courses to take.
Will My Work Experience Count Toward a Professional Studies Degree?+
Monroe evaluates documented learning for its relevance, substance and extent. Its support team helps assemble a prior learning portfolio for review. Ask which learning can satisfy your selected specialization or another degree requirement, and what evidence the evaluator needs. Employment by itself does not establish a credit award.
Can I Use UMGC’s General Studies Degree as a Second Bachelor’s?+
UMGC excludes General Studies as a second bachelor’s degree. The program in this comparison serves students completing their first bachelor’s. If you already hold a bachelor’s, use the university’s eligibility rules to identify an appropriate alternative before asking for a new degree evaluation.
Program details come from the schools’ own degree, admission, transfer, and tuition pages. Program selection follows the criteria stated above. Each school determines how your previous coursework applies.