Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Indiana Institute of Technology-College of Professional Studies

Indiana Tech's associate program in liberal arts looks solid on the earnings side—graduates make roughly $29,650 a year, placing them in the 69th percentile nationally and right at Indiana's median for this degree. More than half the students receive Pell grants, suggesting the program serves a working-class population that might not otherwise attend college. The earnings aren't spectacular, but they're competitive for an associate degree in a humanities field.

The problem is the debt load. At $38,348, graduates carry 3.5 times the national median debt for this program and significantly more than the Indiana median of $24,688. That translates to a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.29—meaning graduates owe 15 months of their first-year salary. For context, Ivy Tech Community College graduates earn similar amounts but with far less debt. This heavy borrowing burden makes little sense for an associate degree, particularly when other Indiana schools deliver comparable outcomes at lower cost.

The small sample size (under 30 graduates) means these numbers could shift with more data, but the debt figure is troubling regardless. If your child is considering this program, the critical question is whether they can complete it with substantially less borrowing—perhaps through scholarships, employer support, or starting at a community college. At full borrowing, the math doesn't favor this investment.