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2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts

14 Ranked Colleges
638 Degrees Awarded
$24,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Massachusetts

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 365,980 liberal arts students received their degree, making the major the 2nd most popular in the country.

Across Massachusetts, there were 2,514 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 638 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $42,887 and $24,387 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in liberal arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great liberal arts programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the liberal arts program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts Schools

The liberal studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts

The colleges and universities below are the best for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

Top 14 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts in Massachusetts

#1

Westfield State University

Westfield, Massachusetts
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, Westfield State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Westfield, Massachusetts, this medium-sized public school handed out 153 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Westfield, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Westfield is $19,167 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at Westfield State University

#2

Framingham State University

Framingham, Massachusetts
#7 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Framingham State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts. Framingham State University is a small school located in Framingham, Massachusetts that handed out 45 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Framingham State also took the #7 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Framingham State is $20,001 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

Full Framingham State University Liberal Arts Report

#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Massachusetts - Lowell. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. University of Massachusetts - Lowell is a fairly large school located in Lowell, Massachusetts that handed out 105 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UMass Lowell did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $19,119 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students per year to attend UMass Lowell.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UMass Lowell Liberal Arts Report

#4

University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth

North Dartmouth, Massachusetts
#9 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. UMass Dartmouth is a medium-sized public school situated in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. It awarded 25 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UMass Dartmouth not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $18,503 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students per year to attend UMass Dartmouth.

Full University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth Liberal Arts Report

#5

Eastern Nazarene College

Quincy, Massachusetts
#12 in overall quality

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, Eastern Nazarene College landed the #5 spot on the list. ENC is located in Quincy, Massachusetts and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.

ENC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. The yearly cost to attend Eastern Nazarene College is $20,751 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Liberal Arts at ENC

#6

Endicott College

Beverly, Massachusetts
#5 in overall quality

Endicott College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Beverly, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 47 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.

Endicott also made our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend Endicott is $35,642 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Endicott Liberal Arts Report

#7

Bay Path University

Longmeadow, Massachusetts
#10 in overall quality

Bay Path University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Bay Path is a private not-for-profit institution located in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. The school has a small population, and it awarded 43 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bay Path, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Bay Path University is $22,211 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

Read more about Liberal Arts at Bay Path

#8

American International College

Springfield, Massachusetts
#8 in overall quality

American International College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 6 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.

AIC also made our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $25,044 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students per year to attend American International College.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at American International College

#9

Curry College

Milton, Massachusetts
#13 in overall quality

Curry College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking. Curry College is located in Milton, Massachusetts and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.

Curry did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. The yearly cost to attend Curry College is $27,739 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

Full Curry Liberal Arts Report

#10

Regis College

Weston, Massachusetts
#11 in overall quality

Regis College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Weston, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Regis College, the school also landed the #11 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Regis College is $30,408 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Liberal Arts at Regis College

#11

Dean College

Franklin, Massachusetts
#14 in overall quality

Dean College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #11. Franklin, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

Dean College also made our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #14. It costs about $31,337 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students per year to attend Dean College.

Full Dean College Liberal Arts Report

#12

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, Massachusetts
#1 in overall quality

Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Massachusetts Institute of Technology is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.

MIT also took the #1 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for MIT is $16,636 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low student loan default rate of 1.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full MIT Liberal Arts Report

#13

Bentley University

Waltham, Massachusetts
#2 in overall quality

Bentley University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Bentley University is located in Waltham, Massachusetts and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 126 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bentley, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Bentley University is $38,986 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

The low student loan default rate of 2.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at Bentley

#14

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts
#3 in overall quality

Harvard University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Harvard University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal studies students list, Harvard has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $15,386 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal studies students per year to attend Harvard.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full Harvard Liberal Arts Report

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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