Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

UW-Whitewater's liberal arts program outperforms most schools nationally but lags noticeably behind other Wisconsin options—a tension worth understanding. At $40,494 in first-year earnings, graduates earn more than 70% of similar programs across the country and carry relatively modest debt at $32,501. However, that same salary sits in the 40th percentile within Wisconsin, where the state median for these programs is $43,714. Comparable UW System schools like Green Bay ($54,436) and Oshkosh ($50,438) produce substantially higher earnings, suggesting this program may not leverage the state's strong job market as effectively as its peers.

The debt picture is actually a bright spot—graduates here borrow more than 94% of similar programs nationally, keeping the debt burden manageable with a 0.80 ratio to first-year earnings. The 10% earnings growth to $44,448 by year four is respectable, though it still leaves graduates trailing the Wisconsin median.

For Wisconsin families, this creates an important question: if you're paying in-state tuition regardless, other UW campuses appear to deliver better returns in this field. UW-Whitewater makes sense if location or fit matters significantly to your student, but purely from an earnings standpoint, it underperforms the state average by about $3,200 annually—a meaningful gap that compounds over a career.