Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is a public institution in North Adams, Massachusetts enrolling 713 undergraduates. It accepts 90% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 56%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,903 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 37%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts ranks #1,903 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 37%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts was awarded 3 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked MCLA as #1,903 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.
MCLA is also ranked #74 on the Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.
See all of the rankings for Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has an acceptance rate of 90%, so it is easier to gain admission to this school than some others. Still, the admissions staff will examine your application closely to make sure you’re a good fit for MCLA.
Learn more about Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts admissions.
At MCLA, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 8 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is 64%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has a freshmen retention rate of 76%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At MCLA the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 56%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
In the current academic year, there are 713 undergraduates at MCLA.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
The typical net cost at MCLA is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $9,845 | $10,762 | $13,250 | $15,958 | $22,698 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of MCLA, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At MCLA, approximately 61% of students took out student loans averaging $7,275 a year. That adds up to $29,100 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.5%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts make about $48,102 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts make the most money.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is an public institution situated in North Adams, Massachusetts. North Adams is a great place for students who enjoy small town life. Get more details about the location of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Get in touch with Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 375 Church Street, North Adams, MA 01247-4100 |
| Phone: | 4136625000 |
| Website: | www.mcla.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_College_of_Liberal_Arts |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/pages/MCLA/82654875561 |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/MCLA_EDU |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 16 majors graduated from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 189 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 26 | $31,172 |
| General Education | 24 | $46,032 |
| General Psychology | 22 | $28,438 |
| Other Interdisciplinary Studies | 14 | $34,231 |
| Health Sciences & Services | 14 | NA |
| Computer Information Systems | 12 | $64,895 |
| General Biology | 10 | $42,359 |
| General English Literature | 9 | $24,617 |
| Sociology | 8 | $31,798 |
292 students took at least one online class at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
Learn more about online learning at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Interested in comparing MCLA? Match them up using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References