FAQ: What is a Liberal Arts College (LAC)?

If you look at the US News College Rankings you’ll see that there are two major rankings, National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges. In general, people have heard of National Universities but few are familiar with the Liberal Arts Colleges or why they are a separate group. So what exactly is a Liberal Arts College?

Click HERE for PDF list of Liberal Arts Colleges here

Liberal Arts College Definition

US News defines the two groups as follows:

• National University- “These universities offer a full range of undergraduate majors as well as master’s and doctoral degrees, and many strongly emphasize research”
• Liberal Arts College-”emphasize undergraduate education and award at least 50% of their degrees in the liberal arts.”

According to their methodology, US News used the Carnegie Classification of “Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences” for the Liberal Arts Colleges category. The Carnegie definition includes the following:

• Awarded fewer than 50 master’s degrees.
• Baccalaureate or higher degrees represent at least 50 percent of all degrees and the focus is on Arts & Sciences.
• Awarded fewer than 20 doctoral degrees.

So basically a LAC is a small, residential college, with little or no graduate teaching, and most majors are in the arts and sciences (not engineering, health careers, accounting, or communications.)

Why consider a Liberal Arts College?

Why would you attend a Liberal Arts College? Because they are small, they offer consistently smaller classes for students. And since there aren’t any graduate students, undergraduates have more interaction with faculty in terms of teaching and research.

Liberal Arts Colleges are a great way to prepare for graduate school. Proportionally, Liberal Arts Colleges produce more PhDs than other institutions, including Research Universities. Students at LACs know their professors well enough to ask them for letters of recommendation to graduate school.

Many Liberal Arts Colleges offer 3-2 programs that allow students to spend three years at a Liberal Arts College and their last two years at an institution that offers engineering to complete an engineering degree. Similar programs are offers in the health and business areas.

In general, the required courses of study at Liberal Arts Colleges are the foundation of many university’s core requirements or common curriculum.  Students can study the liberal arts at large universities with graduate students. A Liberal Arts College offers a more personal experience while studying the liberal arts compared to larger universities.

What do Liberal Arts Colleges Look Like?

Out of over 1,500 4-year colleges with at least 500 full-time undergraduates, 180 are classified as Liberal Arts Colleges under the Carnegie Classification. Of the 180, 164 are private institutions and only 16 are public. Pennsylvania has the most with 18, followed by New York with 13 and Virginia and Massachusetts tying for third with 10 year. A total of 15 states do not have any LACS and another 15 have 3 or fewer.

The LACs span the spectrum of competitiveness with acceptance rates ranging from 7% to 100%. A total of 25 schools admitted 20% or less of applicants while over 126 had rates over 50%. All but eight of the schools are some version of test optional. You’ll also find a range of graduation rates among the Liberal Arts Colleges with 145 having a 4-year graduation rate of 50% or better. Thirteen were less than 30%.

Size

As expected, Liberal Arts Colleges are small with only three exceeding 4,000 students, two of them military academies and one a public LAC. There are 27 with less than 1,000 time students. Not surprisingly, the majority of the schools, 126 compete in the NCAA at the D3 level, with another 25 not in the NCAA at all. However, 14 are in Division 2 and 15 are in Division 1.

Geography

Many people picture Liberal Arts Colleges in small towns out in the middle of nowhere. And that’s true to some extent. However, over 40% of LACs are located in Large Cities or their suburbs or in Midsize Cities. And while the rest may not have immediate access to big city amenities, many students find that they have little reason to leave their campus bubbles because of their involvement with school activities. Some schools have periodic trips where students can go to nearby cities for concerts whereas some bring the concerts to the schools.

Majors

Just because Liberal Arts Colleges have a focus on the arts and sciences doesn’t other options don’t exist. At 40 of the LACS the number graduates with a major in Business was 20% or more. Computer Science majors made up 10% or more the majors at seven of the schools compared to only one in the case of History majors. The most popular majors tend to be in the Social Sciences than followed by Biology.

Costs and Financial Aid

The total cost of attendance among the schools is a low of $19,200 to a high of $82,245. The in-state total cost for the public LACs ranges from $19,2000 to $33,182. Among private schools it was $23,101 to $82,245. There are 15 fifteen schools over the $80,000 and another 43 over $70,000.

At 122 Liberal Arts College, at least 90% of freshman received some institutional aid including at five of the public schools. The average amount of gift aid among the private schools in group spanned from $5,502 to $46,167. However, at three of the schools where over 90% of freshman receive institutional aid, the average net price was still of $40,000 suggesting that schools are likely not meeting full-need or are providing “modest” merit awards relative to the total cost of attendance. Among the private LACS, there were nine that where the institutional gift aid freshman received was less than 50% and another 19 where is under 60%.

Some of the schools do not have a higher percentage of freshman receiving Pell Grants. There are seven schools where the percentage 10% or less and another 42 where it’s under 20%. The percentage of freshman receiving Pell Grants was 30% or higher at 77 of the LACs and 50% or higher at 20 of the schools.

List of Liberal Arts Colleges

The following table lists 180 Liberal Colleges as defined by the Carnegie Classification. There are plenty of colleges list as Masters Colleges that are essentially Liberal Arts Colleges but are not listed here. This data is part of the DIY College Rankings Spreadsheet.

Liberal Arts Colleges

Download PDF List with Graduation Rates, Pell Grant Information, and Applications Fees

Name	Type	State	Size (all students)	% Admitted	Total price for in-state students 2021-22
Birmingham-Southern College	Private	AL	1,058	66	$37,470
Oakwood University	Private	AL	1,452	72	$38,564
Hendrix College	Private	AR	1,120	68	$50,550
Lyon College	Private	AR	579	27	$45,144
Ouachita Baptist University	Private	AR	1,764	74	$43,950
Claremont McKenna College	Private	CA	1,422	11	$78,717
Harvey Mudd College	Private	CA	905	10	$82,236
Occidental College	Private	CA	1964	38	$77,878
Pitzer College	Private	CA	1,168	18	$79,558
Pomona College	Private	CA	1764	7	$77,710
Scripps College	Private	CA	1,116	30	$80,240
Simpson University	Private	CA	993	67	$51,562
Westmont College	Private	CA	1,238	79	$67,030
Whittier College	Private	CA	1,387	82	$66,486
Colorado College	Private	CO	2,266	14	$79,562
Connecticut College	Private	CT	1,829	41	$79,575
Trinity College	Private	CT	2,190	38	$79,770
Wesleyan University	Private	CT	3,581	19	$82,245
Ave Maria University	Private	FL	1302	64	$41,977
Bethune-Cookman University	Private	FL	2,624	100	$31,040
Eckerd College	Private	FL	2,036	70	$65,636
New College of Florida	Public	FL	659	74	$21,928
Agnes Scott College	Private	GA	1109	70	$60,546
Covenant College	Private	GA	914	89	$52,030
Morehouse College	Private	GA	2,554	65	$49,700
Oglethorpe University	Private	GA	1446	81	$60,904
Spelman College	Private	GA	2,417	51	$48,244
Young Harris College	Private	GA	1,407	75	$45,467
Augustana College	Private	IL	2,367	69	$60,219
Illinois College	Private	IL	1,097	75	$46,476
Knox College	Private	IL	1,156	70	$64,219
Lake Forest College	Private	IL	1,690	64	$66,400
Monmouth College	Private	IL	755	66	$54,880
Wheaton College	Private	IL	3,047	86	$54,700
DePauw University	Private	IN	1724	65	$70,394
Earlham College	Private	IN	736	69	$64,527
Franklin College	Private	IN	962	95	$50,226
Hanover College	Private	IN	1,083	73	$55,490
Saint Mary’s College	Private	IN	1,527	83	$64,430
Wabash College	Private	IN	840	62	$60,150
Central College	Private	IA	1,139	75	$34,302
Coe College	Private	IA	1,371	73	$63,012
Cornell College	Private	IA	1,055	81	$62,735
Grinnell College	Private	IA	1,748	11	$76,098
Luther College	Private	IA	1,744	76	$61,175
Wartburg College	Private	IA	1,541	83	$59,890
Berea College	Private	KY	1,468	33	$54,396
Centre College	Private	KY	1,320	68	$60,700
Georgetown College	Private	KY	1,625	75	$55,674
Transylvania University	Private	KY	970	92	$58,070
Centenary College of Louisiana	Private	LA	542	63	$57,500
Dillard University	Private	LA	1,202	55	$35,310
Bates College	Private	ME	1,821	17	$77,870
Bowdoin College	Private	ME	1,951	9	$76,310
Colby College	Private	ME	2,262	9	$78,665
Goucher College	Private	MD	1,917	82	$67,700
St. Mary’s College of Maryland	Public	MD	1,544	77	$31,361
United States Naval Academy	Public	MD	4,528	8
Washington College	Private	MD	1,026	70	$67,694
Amherst College	Private	MA	1,971	9	$80,050
College of the Holy Cross	Private	MA	3,029	43	$74,520
Emmanuel College	Private	MA	1950	74	$63,265
Gordon College	Private	MA	1,804	77	$40,310
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts	Public	MA	994	91	$28,185
Mount Holyoke College	Private	MA	2342	52	$75,098
Smith College	Private	MA	2,924	30	$78,438
Stonehill College	Private	MA	2,479	72	$67,342
Wellesley College	Private	MA	2,461	16	$81,090
Wheaton College (Massachusetts)	Private	MA	1,701	82	$74,850
Williams College	Private	MA	2,224	9	$78,060
Albion College	Private	MI	1,523	69	$66,970
Aquinas College	Private	MI	1,362	89	$49,200
Hillsdale College	Private	MI	1,602	24	$45,382
Hope College	Private	MI	3,132	92	$50,820
Kalamazoo College	Private	MI	1,241	80	$68,832
Bethany Lutheran College	Private	MN	798	61	$39,430
Carleton College	Private	MN	2,044	18	$78,315
College of Saint Benedict	Private	MN	1557	92	$64,600
Concordia College at Moorhead	Private	MN	1,919	72	$41,186
Gustavus Adolphus College	Private	MN	2,251	73	$63,270
Macalester College	Private	MN	2,244	31	$76,357
Saint Johns University	Private	MN	1,643	89	$64,334
St Olaf College	Private	MN	2,988	47	$66,570
University of Minnesota-Morris	Public	MN	1,286	76	$25,562
Millsaps College	Private	MS	666	68	$60,170
Tougaloo College	Private	MS	713	56	$23,101
Westminster College	Private	MO	654	97	$48,982
Saint Anselm College	Private	NH	1,977	78	$63,622
University of New Hampshire at Manchester	Public	NH	664	83	$31,801
Bloomfield College	Private	NJ	1,300	84	$47,992
Drew University	Private	NJ	2244	80	$62,002
Bard College	Private	NY	2,591	60	$77,628
Barnard College	Private	NY	3,043	11	$80,693
Colgate University	Private	NY	3,176	17	$80,160
CUNY Medgar Evers College	Public	NY	4,134	86
Hamilton College	Private	NY	2,055	14	$76,700
Hartwick College	Private	NY	1,170	96	$64,769
Hobart William Smith Colleges	Private	NY	1,684	67	$78,650
Houghton College	Private	NY	895	79	$30,152
Marymount Manhattan College	Private	NY	1,770	77	$64,290
Sarah Lawrence College	Private	NY	1,766	58	$77,228
Skidmore College	Private	NY	2,686	31	$79,250
St Lawrence University	Private	NY	2,279	57	$77,400
SUNY at Purchase College	Public	NY	3,522	75	$28,021
Union College	Private	NY	2,096	47	$78,885
United States Military Academy	Public	NY	4,594	11
Vassar College	Private	NY	2,516	20	$80,830
Davidson College	Private	NC	1,973	18	$73,200
Guilford College	Private	NC	1,198	82	$56,710
Johnson C Smith University	Private	NC	1,166	45	$33,444
Meredith College	Private	NC	1711	70	$56,034
University of North Carolina at Asheville	Public	NC	3,233	82	$21,231
Warren Wilson College	Private	NC	803	77	$54,080
Denison University	Private	OH	2,321	28	$73,900
Kenyon College	Private	OH	1875	37	$80,270
Oberlin College	Private	OH	2,953	34	$81,502
Ohio Wesleyan University	Private	OH	1339	74	$65,020
The College of Wooster	Private	OH	1968	61	$70,850
Wittenberg University	Private	OH	1,326	92	$56,534
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma	Public	OK	849	63	$19,200
Lewis & Clark College	Private	OR	3,499	79	$74,452
Linfield University-McMinnville Campus	Private	OR	1,297	85	$62,182
Reed College	Private	OR	1,566	44	$80,970
Willamette University	Private	OR	1,785	80	$60,106
Albright College	Private	PA	1,465	76	$44,454
Allegheny College	Private	PA	1,575	75	$69,450
Bryn Mawr College	Private	PA	1,778	39	$75,690
Bucknell University	Private	PA	3,757	35	$77,740
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania	Public	PA	642		$25,102
Dickinson College	Private	PA	2,186	48	$77,237
Franklin and Marshall College	Private	PA	2,145	38	$80,618
Gettysburg College	Private	PA	2,401	56	$76,330
Haverford College	Private	PA	1,420	18	$81,570
Juniata College	Private	PA	1,290	74	$66,376
Lafayette College	Private	PA	2,725	41	$75,934
Lycoming College	Private	PA	1,089	75	$61,230
Muhlenberg College	Private	PA	2,095	68	$71,880
Saint Vincent College	Private	PA	1,592	73	$54,895
Susquehanna University	Private	PA	2,202	77	$70,100
Swarthmore College	Private	PA	1,651	8	$75,793
University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg	Public	PA	1,320	91	$31,262
Ursinus College	Private	PA	1,556	83	$73,982
Washington & Jefferson College	Private	PA	1,157	84	$65,164
Westminster College	Private	PA	1,225	82	$52,150
Allen University	Private	SC	621	57	$24,234
Claflin University	Private	SC	1,866	62	$33,676
Furman University	Private	SC	2,463	71	$69,880
Presbyterian College	Private	SC	1231	71	$55,950
Wofford College	Private	SC	1,765	52	$67,638
Fisk University	Private	TN	942	61	$39,206
Lane College	Private	TN	1,047		$23,680
Maryville College	Private	TN	1,046	68	$53,450
Rhodes College	Private	TN	2,073	57	$66,588
The University of the South	Private	TN	1,820	60	$66,480
Austin College	Private	TX	1228	43	$58,927
Southwestern University	Private	TX	1,504	51	$61,720
Trinity University	Private	TX	2,704	34	$63,684
Bennington College	Private	VT	884	67	$80,648
Middlebury College	Private	VT	2,937	13	$78,820
Saint Michael’s College	Private	VT	1,573	86	$65,239
Bridgewater College	Private	VA	1,463	75	$55,250
Hampden-Sydney College	Private	VA	851	37	$66,982
Hollins University	Private	VA	855	75	$57,830
Randolph-Macon College	Private	VA	1,501	84	$60,610
Roanoke College	Private	VA	1,863	80	$66,570
Southern Virginia University	Private	VA	1,170	100	$31,760
University of Mary Washington	Public	VA	3,956	82	$30,880
University of Richmond	Private	VA	3,890	29	$74,590
University of Virginia’s College at Wise	Public	VA	1814	83	$26,765
Virginia Military Institute	Public	VA	1,652	64	$33,182
Virginia Union University	Private	VA	1,730	94	$29,888
Virginia Wesleyan University	Private	VA	1,324	86	$51,774
Washington and Lee University	Private	VA	2,238	19	$80,300
University of Puget Sound	Private	WA	2,173	88	$73,134
Whitman College	Private	WA	1,559	59	$71,982
Bethany College	Private	WV	559	74	$46,890
Beloit College	Private	WI	1,011	67	$67,136
Lawrence University	Private	WI	1,483	75	$65,910
Ripon College	Private	WI	810	80	$59,540
Saint Norbert College	Private	WI	2,009	85	$55,619