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Johnson & Wales University-Online tops our 2026 ranking of the most diverse colleges in Rhode Island. It scores 78.3 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 63.4, and gender diversity 89.7.
by our College Data Analytics Team
If you’re seeking a diverse and multi-faceted college experience, you’ve come to the right place. This list highlights 17 institutions ranked on overall diversity in Rhode Island, using our 2026 methodology.
We measure this ranking on several factors of the student body: racial/ethnic makeup, geographic origin, gender balance, and age range. So you can compare your options, College Factual evaluated 17 colleges, drawing primarily on U.S. Department of Education data (IPEDS and College Scorecard). Learn more about our ranking methodology.
Diversity means different things to different students. Narrow your list by location, or explore the overall, racial-ethnic, gender, economic, and age diversity rankings, or other rankings below.
Looking to pit your favorite colleges against each other? Try our tool College Combat to weigh schools on the factors you care about most.
Learn more about these diverse colleges below:
Johnson & Wales University-Online tops our 2026 ranking of the most diverse colleges in Rhode Island. It scores 78.3 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 63.4, and gender diversity 89.7.
Brown University earned the #2 place in Rhode Island. The school's overall diversity score is 75.6 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 81.9, and gender diversity 99.8.
New England Institute of Technology came in at #3 on this year's Most Diverse Colleges ranking in Rhode Island. The school's overall diversity score is 74.5 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 66.6, and gender diversity 99.2.
Out of the 17 colleges in Rhode Island in this year's ranking, Johnson & Wales University-Providence landed the #4 spot. The school's overall diversity score is 71.6 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 61.7, and gender diversity 95.1.
Community College of Rhode Island came in at #5 on this year's Most Diverse Colleges ranking in Rhode Island. It scores 69.1 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 65.1, alongside a 94.7 gender-diversity score.
Rhode Island College ranked #6 on our 2026 list of the most diverse colleges. Rhode Island College scores 68.7 out of 100 for overall diversity. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 62.0, and gender diversity 92.3.
Rhode Island School of Design ranked #7 on our 2026 list of the most diverse colleges. Rhode Island School of Design scores 67.7 out of 100 for overall diversity. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 72.8, and gender diversity 88.8.
University of Rhode Island ranked #8 on our 2026 list of the most diverse colleges. On overall diversity, it scores 67.0 out of 100. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 52.9, with a gender-diversity score of 98.5.
College Unbound came in at #9 in this year's ranking. College Unbound scores 65.8 out of 100 for overall diversity. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 68.3, with a gender-diversity score of 81.4.
Roger Williams University landed the #10 spot in Rhode Island this year. On overall diversity, it scores 63.2 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 50.8, and gender diversity 100.0.
Lincoln Technical Institute - Lincoln earned the #11 position in Rhode Island. On overall diversity, it scores 62.1 out of 100. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 67.7, alongside a 51.9 gender-diversity score.
Paul Mitchell the School Rhode Island earned the #12 position in Rhode Island. Paul Mitchell the School Rhode Island scores 61.9 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 60.9, with a gender-diversity score of 11.3.
Salve Regina University placed #13 among the most diverse colleges in Rhode Island. The school's overall diversity score is 61.0 out of 100. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 43.0, with a gender-diversity score of 88.6.
Bryant University earned the #14 position in Rhode Island. The school's overall diversity score is 59.2 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 49.5, with a gender-diversity score of 94.9.
Providence College placed #15 among the most diverse colleges in Rhode Island. On overall diversity, it scores 58.6 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 39.4, with a gender-diversity score of 99.3.
Empire Beauty School-Warwick placed #16 among the most diverse colleges in Rhode Island. It scores 57.2 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 72.0, and gender diversity 26.6.
New England Tractor Trailer Training School of Rhode Island placed #17 among the most diverse colleges in Rhode Island. It scores 50.8 out of 100 for overall diversity. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 52.5, and gender diversity 38.0.
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This ranking is based on several factors of the student body: racial/ethnic makeup, geographic representation, gender balance, and age range. The racial-ethnic minorities percentage is calculated by taking the total number of students, subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity is unknown, and dividing by total enrollment.
The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition.
References
See our data sources and methodologies.