2024 Best Liberal Arts Schools
811
Colleges in the United States
366,996
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
Liberal Arts is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #2 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 811 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Liberal Arts Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 366,996 degrees in liberal arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Liberal Arts School
Your choice of liberal arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Liberal Arts School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Pick Your Liberal Arts Degree Level
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 the Best Liberal Arts Schools.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
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.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.
Best Schools for Liberal Arts in the United States
The schools below may not offer all types of liberal studies degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
25 Top Schools in Liberal Studies
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
26th
Most Popular In PA
University of Pennsylvania is a good decision for students interested in a degree in liberal arts. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were roughly 29 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from University of Pennsylvania
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
16th
Most Popular In MD
39
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
Every student who is interested in liberal arts needs to check out Johns Hopkins University. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.
There were approximately 39 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Johns Hopkins University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
10th
Most Popular In TX
189
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
It's hard to beat The University of Texas at Austin if you want to pursue a degree in liberal arts. UT Austin is a very large public university located in the large city of Austin. A Best Colleges rank of #36 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.
There were approximately 189 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from The University of Texas at Austin
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In DC
50
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
Any student who is interested in liberal arts has to check out Georgetown University. Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.
There were roughly 50 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Georgetown University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
5th
Most Popular In NY
632
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #27 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 632 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from New York University
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
8th
Most Popular In MA
120
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
Located in the small city of Waltham, Bentley is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #32 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Bentley is a great university overall.
There were about 120 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at Bentley in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Bentley University
UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were about 19 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from University of Chicago
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
26th
Most Popular In MA
MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge. A Best Colleges rank of #1 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means MIT is a great school overall.
There were approximately 9 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at MIT in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
20th
Most Popular In TX
44
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
SMU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Dallas. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SMU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 44 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at SMU in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Southern Methodist University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In OK
373
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
University of Oklahoma is a very large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Norman. This university ranks 1st out of 32 colleges for overall quality in the state of Oklahoma.
There were roughly 373 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at University of Oklahoma in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
66th
Most Popular In NC
Located in the city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were approximately 27 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from North Carolina State University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
8th
Most Popular In CT
31
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
Located in the small city of Middletown, Wesleyan U is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
There were approximately 31 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at Wesleyan U in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Wesleyan University
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
14th
Most Popular In PA
54
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
Drexel is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia. This university ranks 10th out of 109 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.
There were about 54 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at Drexel in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Drexel University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
21st
Most Popular In PA
Villanova is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Villanova is a great university overall.
There were about 30 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at Villanova in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Villanova University
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
8th
Most Popular In IN
36
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.
There were about 36 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from University of Notre Dame
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
17th
Most Popular In KS
115
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
Located in the city of Lawrence, KU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 47 colleges for overall quality in the state of Kansas.
There were roughly 115 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at KU in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from University of Kansas
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
10th
Most Popular In IA
218
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 40 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were roughly 218 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from University of Iowa
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
17th
Most Popular In VA
90
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 5th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were approximately 90 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at GMU in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from George Mason University
Providence is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Providence. This college ranks 2nd out of 9 schools for overall quality in the state of Rhode Island.
There were approximately 11 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at Providence in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Providence College
Associate Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In UT
1,206
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
UVU is a fairly large public university located in the city of Orem. This university ranks 4th out of 13 schools for overall quality in the state of Utah.
There were about 1206 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at UVU in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Utah Valley University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
16th
Most Popular In TN
62
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
Located in the medium-sized city of Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee State University is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 12th out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.
There were approximately 62 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at Middle Tennessee State University in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Middle Tennessee State University
U Miami is a large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Coral Gables. This university ranks 2nd out of 77 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were approximately 16 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at U Miami in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from University of Miami
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
25th
Most Popular In TX
Located in the large city of Houston, UST is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 38th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were roughly 28 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at UST in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from University of St. Thomas
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
97th
Most Popular In CA
72
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
Located in the large suburb of Moraga, SMC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 30th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 72 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at SMC in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Saint Mary’s College of California
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
21st
Most Popular In TX
38
Liberal Studies Degrees Awarded
TCU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Fort Worth. This university ranks 5th out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were about 38 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at TCU in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in liberal arts from Texas Christian University