Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at University of Kentucky

At $33,700 in first-year earnings, this program underperforms most Kentucky options—landing below the state median and trailing regional peers like Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, and Western Kentucky by 10-15%. The relatively small debt load ($30,690, which is manageable at below-national-average levels) keeps this from being a financial disaster, but it doesn't change the fundamental picture: graduates are entering the job market at a disadvantage compared to what they'd likely earn from similar programs elsewhere in the state.

The small sample size here matters significantly. With fewer than 30 graduates tracked, these numbers could swing dramatically year-to-year. That uncertainty cuts both ways—next year's cohort might do better, but they might also do worse. What we can say is that UK's broader institutional profile (92% admission rate, moderate test scores) suggests this isn't a highly selective liberal arts program that might justify lower initial earnings through graduate school placement or other long-term advantages.

For Kentucky families, the comparison to Thomas More is striking—their liberal arts graduates earn nearly double what UK's do, though that's likely an outlier. More realistically, you're looking at roughly $2,000-4,000 less annually than you'd get from comparable state schools. Unless your student has compelling reasons to attend UK specifically, those differences add up quickly when you're trying to pay down $30,000 in loans.