National Liberal Arts College Rankings
National Liberal Arts College Methodology
Among the National Liberal Arts Colleges are schools like Amherst College and Middlebury College, which emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts fields of study.
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- Tuition and fees:
- $980 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,661
- Setting:
- rural
Berea, KY
Berea College has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,661, with a gender distribution of 43.3 percent male students and 56.7 percent female students. At this school, 83.5 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 16.5 percent of students live off campus.
- Tuition and fees:
- $36,492 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,420
- Setting:
- city
Galesburg, IL
Founded in 1837, Knox College is a private institution. Knox College follows a trimester-based academic calendar and its admissions are considered more selective.
- Tuition and fees:
- $42,800 (2011-12)
- Setting:
- city
Portland, OR
Reed College is a private institution that was founded in 1911. The student-faculty ratio at Reed College is 10:1.
- Tuition and fees:
- $35,486 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,890
- Setting:
- rural
Collegeville, MN
St. John's University was established in 1857 as a private institution. St. John's University follows a semester-based academic calendar and its admissions are considered more selective.
- Tuition and fees:
- $29,865 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,029
- Setting:
- city
Lexington, KY
A private institution, Transylvania University was founded in 1780. Transylvania University offers a Greek system, where 50.0 percent of the student body is involved in a sorority and 50.0 percent is involved in a fraternity.
- Tuition and fees:
- $43,270 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,776
- Setting:
- suburban
Collegeville, PA
Ursinus College (UC) is a private, selective school located in the Philadelphia suburb of Collegeville, Pa. Famous author J.D. Salinger attended UC for about a semester before eventually writing The Catcher in the Rye, and scientist Gerald Edelman graduated to later win a Nobel Prize for his studies of the immune system.
- Tuition and fees:
- $37,610 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 2,123
- Setting:
- suburban
Meadville, PA
At Allegheny College in northwest Pennsylvania, students can choose from more than 30 majors and must complete and present a capstone project their senior year. William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, attended Allegheny College in the 1800s, but legend has it that he was expelled for shoving a cow into the school’s bell tower.
- Tuition and fees:
- $40,020 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,063
- Setting:
- city
Richmond, IN
A Quaker school in Richmond, Ind., Earlam College offers unique academic opportunities in environmental studies and Japanese culture. Notable Earlham alumni include actor Michael C. Hall, who stars in the television show Dexter.
- Tuition and fees:
- $23,600 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 358
- Setting:
- rural
Santa Paula, CA
Thomas Aquinas College was established in 1971 as a private institution. Thomas Aquinas College follows a semester-based academic calendar and its admissions are considered selective.
- Tuition and fees:
- $37,606 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 2,471
- Setting:
- rural
St. Peter, MN
A private institution, Gustavus Adolphus College was founded in 1862. Gustavus Adolphus College offers a Greek system, where 12.0 percent of the student body is involved in a sorority and 11.0 percent is involved in a fraternity.
- Tuition and fees:
- $40,250 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 2,651
- Setting:
- suburban
Tacoma, WA
University of Puget Sound has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,651, with a gender distribution of 42.7 percent male students and 57.3 percent female students. At this school, 57.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 43.0 percent of students live off campus.
- In-state tuition and fees:
- $6,763 (2012-13)
- Out-of-state tuition and fees:
- $29,792 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 845
- Setting:
- suburban
Sarasota, FL
Founded in 2001, New College of Florida is a public institution. New College of Florida follows a 4-1-4-based academic calendar and its admissions are considered more selective.
- Tuition and fees:
- $33,280 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,510
- Setting:
- suburban
Notre Dame, IN
St. Mary's College is a private institution that was founded in 1844. The school has 63.2 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students, and the student-faculty ratio at St. Mary's College is 10:1.
- In-state tuition and fees:
- $15,013 (2012-13)
- Out-of-state tuition and fees:
- $27,573 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,962
- Setting:
- rural
St. Mary's City, MD
St. Mary's College of Maryland was established in 1840 as a public institution. St. Mary's College of Maryland follows a semester-based academic calendar and its admissions are considered more selective.
- Tuition and fees:
- $37,701 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 354
- Setting:
- rural
Bar Harbor, ME
A private institution, College of the Atlantic was founded in 1969.
- Tuition and fees:
- $34,705 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,197
- Setting:
- rural
Mount Vernon, IA
A small school in Iowa, Cornell College utilizes a block schedule. Students attend one course for several hours each weekday for a block of about three weeks.
- Tuition and fees:
- $30,974 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 910
- Setting:
- city
Jackson, MS
Founded in 1890, Millsaps College is a private institution. Millsaps College follows a semester-based academic calendar and its admissions are considered more selective.
- Tuition and fees:
- $37,510 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,996
- Setting:
- suburban
Colchester, VT
St. Michael's College is a private institution that was founded in 1904. The school has 57.4 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students, and the student-faculty ratio at St. Michael's College is 12:1.
- Tuition and fees:
- $38,310 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,457
- Setting:
- suburban
Washington, PA
Washington and Jefferson College was established in 1781 as a private institution. Washington and Jefferson College follows a 4-1-4-based academic calendar and its admissions are considered selective.
- Tuition and fees:
- $37,020 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,337
- Setting:
- suburban
- Tuition and fees:
- $34,614 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 2,518
- Setting:
- city
Rock Island, IL
Located at the border of Iowa on the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private school in Rock Island, Ill. Students at Augustana can explore several groups and events, including River Readings, which brings literary artists to campus.
- Tuition and fees:
- $36,218 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 2,086
- Setting:
- suburban
St. Joseph, MN
Founded in 1887, College of St. Benedict is a private institution. College of St. Benedict follows a semester-based academic calendar and its admissions are considered more selective.
- Tuition and fees:
- $21,930 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,457
- Setting:
- rural
Hillsdale, MI
Hillsdale College is a private institution that was founded in 1844. The school has 67.5 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students, and the student-faculty ratio at Hillsdale College is 10:1.
- Tuition and fees:
- $39,944 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 1,515
- Setting:
- rural
Chestertown, MD
Washington College, located in Chestertown, Md., was the first college chartered after American independence from the British. Students today can get involved in more than 80 clubs on campus or travel to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., which are each about 90 minutes away.
- Tuition and fees:
- $44,220 (2012-13)
- Enrollment:
- 686
- Setting:
- rural
Bennington, VT
A private institution, Bennington College was founded in 1925.
