Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at New Jersey Institute of Technology

A liberal arts degree from a school best known for engineering raises practical questions about fit and outcomes. Similar programs across New Jersey suggest first-year earnings around $38,000—squarely in line with the national median for this broad field—but that's cold comfort when the state's strongest liberal arts programs show graduates earning $10,000 to $12,000 more right out of the gate. At an estimated $26,000 in debt, the burden isn't crushing, but it reflects the reality that NJIT's tuition runs higher than many liberal arts-focused institutions where the infrastructure and network for humanities graduates are more established.

The larger concern is strategic fit. NJIT's reputation and recruitment pipelines are built around STEM fields, which likely means fewer employer connections and less career support tailored to liberal arts graduates. When nearly 40% of students receive Pell grants, choosing a program without clear placement advantages matters even more. The schools outperforming these estimates—Rowan, Stockton, Ramapo—are places where liberal arts majors aren't the exception. If your child is certain about NJIT for campus or personal reasons, understand they may need to work harder to find their footing after graduation than peers at colleges where humanities students are the priority, not an outlier.