Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at West Virginia University at Parkersburg

West Virginia University at Parkersburg manages to deliver something increasingly rare: a liberal arts degree with genuinely manageable debt. At $18,557, graduates here carry roughly a third less debt than the state median ($28,655) and barely half the national typical burden. That 0.56 debt-to-earnings ratio means students will owe about seven months' salary—a level that shouldn't dominate their financial decisions in their twenties.

The earnings tell a more sobering story. Starting at $32,909 and climbing to $38,077 after four years, graduates land below both state and national medians for this field. Within West Virginia's 19 liberal arts programs, this ranks around the 40th percentile—middle of the pack in a state where the field generally underperforms. Compare this to American Public University System's $62,000 outcomes for similar degrees, and the gap becomes stark.

Here's the practical takeaway: if your child is committed to a liberal arts education and you're focused on avoiding debt that could derail their early career, this program accomplishes that limited but important goal. The modest starting salary won't impress anyone, but the debt load won't trap them either. Just understand they're trading lower earnings for lower financial risk—this isn't the place to expect a liberal arts degree to launch a high-earning career path.