Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Southern Nazarene University

The small sample size here demands caution, but the numbers warrant serious concern: first-year earnings of $23,445 rank this program in just the 10th percentile among Oklahoma's 22 liberal arts programs, falling $14,000 below the state median. Even accounting for the 45% Pell grant rate at Southern Nazarene, these earnings are troublingly low—roughly $7,000 below minimum wage expectations for full-time work. Meanwhile, graduates carry $30,754 in debt, creating a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.31 that would take exceptional budgeting to manage on this income level.

The gap between this program and comparable Oklahoma schools is striking. The University of Oklahoma's liberal arts graduates earn nearly double at $45,726, while even mid-tier options like Southeastern Oklahoma State deliver $38,899. With fewer than 30 graduates in this cohort, these outcomes could reflect temporary hiring challenges or an unusually difficult year for this particular group rather than a systemic program issue.

Parents should request multi-year data directly from Southern Nazarene before committing. If these earnings prove consistent across cohorts, families would be better served exploring other Oklahoma options where liberal arts graduates regularly clear $35,000-$40,000 in their first year—a difference that significantly improves the debt payoff timeline and early-career financial stability.