Les petites écoles offrent des opportunités éducatives uniques avec des ratios enseignants-élèves favorables, un accès à des projets de recherche et des programmes dans la communauté, dans le pays et à l'étranger.
Les meilleurs petits collèges d'Amérique couvrent toute la gamme, d'une école d'arts libéraux comme Colby College, où les étudiants peuvent explorer les écosystèmes du Belize, au California Institute of Technology, qui travaille en étroite collaboration avec la NASA. Certains peuvent se vanter de petites classes et de collaborations étroites avec les professeurs tout en s'appuyant sur les ressources d'une institution beaucoup plus grande, comme le Barnard College de l'Université de Columbia. Les institutions chrétiennes imprègnent leurs offres académiques d'une perspective spirituelle, tandis que d'autres écoles se sont ouvertes avec une affiliation religieuse mais sont depuis devenues des institutions laïques. Les écoles militaires préparent les jeunes hommes et femmes aux branches de l'armée de l'armée américaine à la marine marchande américaine, tandis que de nombreuses autres proposent des séminaires de première année pour donner aux étudiants une base commune en matière de pensée critique et de compétences en écriture. Les étudiants peuvent également profiter des opportunités de voyager à l'étranger et de travailler de manière indépendante.
L'histoire de certaines écoles reflète celle du pays - certaines ont été créées tôt en Nouvelle-Angleterre, où le Bowdoin College est antérieur à l'État du Maine, ou par ceux qui se sont déplacés vers l'ouest. Hamilton College a été nommé d'après Alexander Hamilton, secrétaire au Trésor du pays. Le nom de l'Université Washington &Lee reflète le rôle que George Washington et Robert E. Lee ont joué dans l'école de Virginie.
Ce qui est différent cette année, c'est la pandémie de coronavirus. Les collèges et les universités réagissent de différentes manières au COVID-19, certains passant entièrement à l'apprentissage à distance et d'autres ouvrant leurs campus avec des règles de sécurité en place.
Stacker a compilé une liste des meilleurs petits collèges d'Amérique en utilisant le classement 2021 de Niche. Niche classe les collèges avec une variété de facteurs, notamment les universitaires, les admissions, les finances et la vie étudiante. Les collèges comptant moins de 5 000 étudiants inscrits ont été pris en compte.
Lisez la suite pour découvrir les petites écoles qui pourraient offrir la meilleure éducation pour vous ou vos enfants.
1 / 100
- Lieu :Nashville, TN
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 738
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :13:1
- Taux d'acceptation :60 %
- Taux de diplomation :65 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :43 200 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :94 %
L'Université de Lipscomb est une université chrétienne de Nashville qui propose plus de 176 programmes de premier cycle, majeurs et mineurs, ainsi que 60 programmes de maîtrise et trois programmes de doctorat. Le personnel comprend 279 membres du corps professoral à temps plein. La mission de l'école est d'intégrer les universitaires et la foi chrétienne.
2 / 100
- Lieu :Meadville, Pennsylvanie
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 724
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :10:1
- Taux d'acceptation :64 %
- Taux de diplomation :74 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :50 900 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :95 %
L'Allegheny College encourage les étudiants à envisager des concentrations au-delà d'une seule division académique afin qu'ils puissent explorer tous leurs talents - médecine et journalisme, par exemple, ou studio d'art et développement d'applications. Il s'agit d'une école à test facultatif, elle ne nécessite donc pas l'ACT ou le SAT pour l'admission, une considération qui pourrait être plus importante pendant la pandémie de coronavirus.
3 / 100
- Lieu :Upland, IN
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 846
- Ratio étudiants-professeurs :12:1
- Taux d'acceptation :78 %
- Taux de diplomation :82 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :38 000 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :93 %
À l'origine le Fort Wayne Female College, l'Université Taylor est une école chrétienne d'arts libéraux avec un chapitre de MuKappa, une organisation axée sur les étudiants missionnaires et de troisième culture. Sa Honours Guild envoie généralement des étudiants en voyage international financé par des bourses et amène des universitaires à l'école pour des conférences sur des thèmes choisis par les étudiants.
4 / 100
- Lieu :Santa Clarita, CA
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :953
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :10:1
- Taux d'acceptation :77 %
- Taux de diplomation :60 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :41 700 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :89 %
La devise de l'Université de la maîtrise est "Pour le Christ et les Écritures", et elle propose des programmes de premier cycle et des cycles supérieurs. Dans son programme d'études bibliques, les étudiants explorent le matériel dans le contexte de son environnement historique afin qu'ils puissent l'appliquer aux problèmes théologiques et culturels d'aujourd'hui. Un programme biblique d'un an offre une formation intense aux futurs missionnaires et autres.
5 / 100
- Emplacement :Moorhead, MN
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 041
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :12:1
- Taux d'acceptation :61 %
- Taux de diplomation :75 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :44 500 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :97 %
Concordia est un collège d'arts libéraux de quatre ans de l'Église évangélique luthérienne en Amérique. Tous les élèves de Concordia complètent deux des expériences d'apprentissage intégratif de l'école, ou PEAK, en mettant l'accent sur l'apprentissage en dehors de la salle de classe traditionnelle. Les étudiants peuvent par exemple suivre un cours non traditionnel d'un semestre ou partir en voyage de trois semaines à l'étranger.
6 / 100
- Lieu :Prescott, AZ
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 592
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :17:1
- Taux d'acceptation :67 %
- Taux de diplomation :65 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :66 200 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :94 %
Cette université trouve ses racines dans le "barnstormer" John Paul Riddle et l'entrepreneur T. Higbee Embry, fondateurs de l'Embry-Riddle Flying School. Axé sur l'industrie aéronautique, il compte de nombreuses premières:le premier et unique programme de premier cycle en physique spatiale, le premier collège de sécurité et de renseignement, le premier programme d'opérations de vols spatiaux, le premier programme d'ingénierie de systèmes sans pilote et autonomes et le premier et unique diplôme de premier cycle en physiologie aérospatiale.
7 / 100
- Lieu :Spartanburg, SC
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 653
- Ratio étudiants-professeurs :11:1
- Taux d'acceptation :64 %
- Taux de diplomation :81 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :51 500 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :92 %
Le Wofford College prépare les étudiants à travers l'exploration de carrière, l'apprentissage communautaire et les études à l'étranger. Son programme Rocket Fuel s'adresse aux étudiants en phase de conception de développement d'entreprise, à la fin de laquelle ils ont accès à un financement de démarrage pouvant atteindre 500 $. Le Terrier Startup Challenge enseigne aux étudiants comment présenter leurs entreprises pour un financement substantiel, tandis qu'un incubateur d'été, Accelerator for New Ventures, est une opportunité rémunérée pour les étudiants ayant une idée d'entreprise bien développée ou une entreprise existante.
8 / 100
- Lieu :Point Lookout, MO
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 533
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :14:1
- Taux d'acceptation :12 %
- Taux de diplomation :66 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :32 500 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :93 %
College of the Ozarks, une université chrétienne d'arts libéraux, se présente comme "Hard Work U". Sa mission est de fournir les avantages d'une éducation chrétienne, en particulier à ceux qui n'ont pas l'argent pour poursuivre des études. Grâce au travail sur le campus, à une bourse de l'université et à l'aide de l'État et du gouvernement fédéral, tous les étudiants ont la possibilité d'obtenir leur diplôme sans dette (bien que le logement et les repas ne soient pas inclus).
9 / 100
- Lieu :Evansville, IN
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 992
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :11:1
- Taux d'acceptation :69 %
- Taux de diplomation :74 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :41 800 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :94 %
L'Université d'Evansville est une école privée liée à l'Église méthodiste unie et est classée parmi les meilleures universités du Midwest par US News &World Report. Il possède l'un des rares départements d'archéologie autonomes du pays et délivre un baccalauréat en archéologie, se concentrant sur l'ancienne Méditerranée, le Proche-Orient et l'Europe occidentale. Il possède également la seule excavation en cours sur le campus du pays, le projet d'excavation de Tin City, qui a débuté en 2003.
10 / 100
- Lieu :Lancaster, SC
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :700
- Ratio étudiants-professeurs :14:1
- Taux d'acceptation :67 %
- Taux de diplomation :39 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :44 900 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :95 %
Tous les étudiants de l'Université de Caroline du Sud reçoivent une base commune:le Carolina Core, les premières classes d'arts libéraux et de sciences. Les cours de base enseignent la communication, le raisonnement analytique, la résolution de problèmes, la culture scientifique et informationnelle et les arts, en plus d'explorer la citoyenneté mondiale et la compréhension multiculturelle. De nouveaux cours de base sont ajoutés chaque année.
11 / 100
- Lieu :Genève, NY
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 208
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :10:1
- Taux d'acceptation :57 %
- Taux de diplomation :78 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :53 500 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :94 %
Les collèges Hobart et William Smith, situés sur 320 acres dans la région des Finger Lakes de l'État de New York, ont été classés parmi les écoles produisant le plus de boursiers Fulbright pendant quatre des cinq dernières années. Le programme Fulbright est le premier échange éducatif international du gouvernement américain. Vingt-cinq étudiants de Hobart et William Smith ont remporté des bourses de recherche complètes et des postes d'assistant à l'enseignement de l'anglais pour des études supérieures et des recherches ou pour l'enseignement.
12 / 100
- Lieu :Georgetown, TX
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 416
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :12:1
- Taux d'acceptation :45 %
- Taux de diplomation :74 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :54 000 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :90 %
La Southwestern University appelle son apprentissage interdisciplinaire Paideia, une référence grecque à l'éducation. Les étudiants sont encouragés à penser de manière critique, à établir des liens entre les disciplines et à tirer parti des connaissances qu'ils ont acquises en classe et à l'extérieur, que ce soit grâce à l'engagement communautaire, aux stages, à la recherche, aux langues ou aux projets créatifs qu'ils ont dirigés.
13 / 100
- Lieu :Kansas City, MO
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 456
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :14:1
- Taux d'acceptation :66 %
- Taux de diplomation :75 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :50 800 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :93 %
L'Université Rockhurst est une université régionale de premier plan à Kansas City offrant des programmes de licence et d'études supérieures basés sur la philosophie jésuite et les arts libéraux. Un élément clé de l'école est l'apprentissage par le service, dans lequel les leçons apprises en classe sont étendues à la communauté, et son centre d'apprentissage par le service organise des projets de service communautaire pour aider les élèves à s'engager dans l'action sociale. Sa mineure en études catholiques est un programme interdisciplinaire explorant les questions liées aux croyances catholiques.
14 / 100
- Lieu :Syracuse, NY
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 776
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :14:1
- Taux d'acceptation :61 %
- Taux de diplomation :77 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :45 600 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :94 %
Le SUNY College of Environmental Science &Forestry, qui fait partie du système universitaire de l'État de New York, est classé n ° 2 sur la liste des «universités vertes» de Princeton Review et n ° 3 sur la liste des «écoles cool» de Sierra Magazine. Le Jour de la Terre dans cette école s'étend sur une semaine entière. Il propose des cours de premier cycle et des cycles supérieurs axés sur l'environnement, de la science halieutique et de la santé des forêts à la gestion de l'énergie durable, mais ses étudiants peuvent également suivre des cours, rejoindre des clubs et utiliser les installations de l'université de Syracuse.
15 / 100
- Lieu :Albany, NY
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :854
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :9:1
- Taux d'acceptation :72 %
- Taux de diplomation :66 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :124 700 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :98 %
L'Albany College of Pharmacy &Health Sciences, avec des campus à Albany, New York, et Colchester, Vermont, a été nommé n ° 1 des collèges à valeur ajoutée du pays par le Wall Street Journal et la Brookings Institution. Il propose des programmes de licence, de maîtrise et de doctorat, et les étudiants peuvent s'inscrire à un programme de double diplôme pour obtenir un baccalauréat et une maîtrise en sciences pharmaceutiques en cinq ans. L'école utilise son expertise pour effectuer des tests COVID-19 pour ses étudiants et employés et ceux des collèges à proximité.
16 / 100
- Lieu :Castine, ME
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :958
- Ratio étudiants-professeurs :11:1
- Taux d'acceptation :55 %
- Taux de diplomation :76 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :95 600 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :96 %
Les étudiants de la Maine Maritime Academy reçoivent une formation pratique avec une expérience d'ingénierie en mer et d'officier de pont à bord du navire-école State of Maine ou de la goélette Bowdoin, ainsi que du travail à bord de navires commerciaux et une formation à bord du remorqueur Pentagoet. Les étudiants deviennent des marins, des ingénieurs, des gestionnaires de la chaîne d'approvisionnement et des scientifiques. La Maine Maritime Academy a été classée n ° 1 du meilleur collège public sur la liste des meilleurs collèges du magazine Money en 2014 et 2015.
17 / 100
- Lieu :Allentown, Pennsylvanie
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 248
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :10:1
- Taux d'acceptation :62 %
- Taux de diplomation :82 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :59 400 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :96 %
Le Muhlenberg College rend hommage au fondateur de l'Église luthérienne d'Amérique, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, et continue d'avoir un lien avec l'Église évangélique luthérienne d'Amérique. Il propose plus de 50 programmes d'études de premier cycle et de formation continue, et il s'associe à de plus grandes institutions pour des études avancées, par exemple en dentisterie à l'Université de Pennsylvanie, en médecine à l'Université Temple, en commerce à l'Université américaine ou à l'Université de Boston, ou en ingénierie à l'Université Columbia.
18 / 100
- Lieu :Arkadelphia, AR
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 529
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :12:1
- Taux d'acceptation :64 %
- Taux de diplomation :64 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :41 200 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :93 %
L'Université baptiste d'Ouachita est une école d'arts libéraux qui célèbre les réalisations académiques de ses étudiants lors d'une journée annuelle des universitaires. Une majeure unique est les langues bibliques, qui comprennent l'hébreu biblique et le grec du Nouveau Testament. Et si les étudiants ne sont pas sûrs d'une majeure, le programme DISCOVER propose une évaluation pour identifier les carrières qu'ils pourraient apprécier en fonction de leur personnalité, de leurs intérêts et de leurs valeurs, auquel cas le personnel les aide à faire correspondre les résultats avec les majeures académiques appropriées.
19 / 100
- Lieu :Ada, OH
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 118
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :11:1
- Taux d'acceptation :68 %
- Taux de diplomation :72 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :63 500 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :97 %
L'Ohio Northern University est une "université indépendante et complète" qui propose 60 programmes répartis dans cinq collèges :arts et sciences, commerce, ingénierie, pharmacie et droit. Les offres de cours vont de la robotique appliquée et de l'ingénierie aérospatiale à la biologie médico-légale et à la gestion de la construction. Son programme de spécialisation rassemble des étudiants de ses collèges de premier cycle pour de petits séminaires sur des sujets conçus sur mesure.
20 / 100
- Lieu :Bloomington, IL
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 689
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :11:1
- Taux d'acceptation :59 %
- Taux de diplomation :79 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :59 100 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :96 %
À l'Illinois Wesleyan University, tous les cours sont dispensés par des professeurs et la taille moyenne des classes est de 16 étudiants. Les deux tiers des étudiants font de la recherche, tandis que 71% ont au moins un stage. Pendant le trimestre de mai, les étudiants peuvent se concentrer sur un seul cours ou sujet. Quelques exemples de cours récents du mois de mai :l'islam de la Mecque à Malcolm X, le maquillage d'effets spéciaux au théâtre et le grand calmar vampire qui a mangé Wall Street. L'école est à mi-chemin entre Chicago, Illinois, et St. Louis, Missouri.
21 / 100
- Lieu :Roswell, NM
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :412
- Ratio étudiants-professeurs :16:1
- Taux d'acceptation :37 %
- Taux de diplomation :68 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :39 700 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :94 %
L'Institut militaire du Nouveau-Mexique s'appelle le West Point of the West et est un lycée et un collège mixtes soutenus par l'État. Il décerne des diplômes d'études secondaires et des diplômes d'associé en arts et en sciences. Le Corps de formation des officiers de réserve (ROTC) offre aux cadets une chance d'obtenir une commission dans l'armée américaine grâce au programme de mise en service précoce de 2 ans. Les cadets peuvent également poursuivre des commissions dans toutes les branches de l'armée grâce au programme préparatoire de l'Académie de service.
22 / 100
- Emplacement :New London, CT
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 798
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :9:1
- Taux d'acceptation :38 %
- Taux de diplomation :81 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :54 900 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :93 %
Le Connecticut College adopte une approche unique de l'enseignement des arts libéraux avec Connections, un programme englobant une étude interdisciplinaire majeure, un stage pertinent, une langue mondiale et une perspective globale interconnectée. Par exemple, un accent sur la santé publique pourrait explorer les problèmes de santé mondiaux, des vaccins au changement climatique, en passant par la science, les sciences sociales, l'économie et les arts. Une pierre angulaire de Connections, le Parcours intégratif, est un ensemble de cours sur un thème central.
23 / 100
- Lieu :University Heights, OH
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 996
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :13:1
- Taux d'acceptation :83 %
- Taux de diplomation :78 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :53 800 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :95 %
L'Université John Carroll, une école jésuite qui encourage les étudiants à exceller dans l'apprentissage, le leadership et le «service au bien commun», est une université d'arts libéraux qui propose de nombreux programmes dans les domaines des arts, des sciences et des affaires. Les programmes Plus One (cinq ans pour obtenir un baccalauréat et une maîtrise) sont proposés en administration des affaires, en anglais, en éducation, en administration à but non lucratif et en théologie.
24 / 100
- Lieu :Worcester, MA
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 263
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :10:1
- Taux d'acceptation :59 %
- Taux de diplomation :77 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :49 100 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :90 %
L'Université Clark est une université de recherche en arts libéraux. Ses étudiants de premier cycle travaillent côte à côte avec des chercheurs du corps professoral, collaborant dans un processus que l'université appelle «l'enseignement du coude» pour découvrir eux-mêmes de nouvelles connaissances et apporter des contributions savantes. L'université espère développer chez ses étudiants à la fois l'indépendance et l'appréciation d'un éventail de perspectives.
25 / 100
- Lieu :Irving, TX
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 447
- Ratio étudiants-professeurs :11:1
- Taux d'acceptation :39 %
- Taux de diplomation :66 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :47 400 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :90 %
L'Université de Dallas est une université jésuite dont les étudiants lisent les œuvres qui ont façonné la civilisation occidentale et en discutent dans de petites classes d'une taille moyenne de 16 étudiants. Il parraine une série de conférences d'une durée d'un an avec l'American Enterprise Institute intitulée "E Pluribus Unum :Sources of our Unity", qui explorera l'unité entre la gauche et la droite, la religion et la laïcité, et d'autres opposés.
26 / 100
- Lieu :Chicago, IL
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 792
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :12:1
- Taux d'acceptation :58 %
- Taux de diplomation :72 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :69 100 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :92 %
L'Illinois Institute of Technology est la seule université technologique de Chicago, et son programme de projets interprofessionnels (IPRO) offre une alternative à l'enseignement traditionnel depuis 1995. Des étudiants de différentes filières se réunissent pour résoudre des problèmes, parfois pour des entreprises et des organisations à but non lucratif.
27 / 100
- Lieu :Winter Park, FL
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 433
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :10:1
- Taux d'acceptation :67 %
- Taux de diplomation :74 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :45 700 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :91 %
Premier collège reconnu en Floride, Rollins a été fondé en 1885 par des congrégationalistes de la Nouvelle-Angleterre. Son programme phare, Rollins Gateway, combine un programme interdisciplinaire avec des expériences en dehors de la salle de classe et un mentorat. La Hamilton Holt School propose des programmes de licence et de maîtrise conçus pour les adultes qui travaillent, avec des cours du soir en semaine et le week-end regroupant en moyenne 17 étudiants de tous âges et de tous horizons.
28 / 100
- Lieu :Canton, NY
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 407
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :11:1
- Taux d'acceptation :46 %
- Taux de diplomation :82 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :50 100 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :95 %
Les majors les plus populaires de l'Université St. Lawrence parmi la promotion de 2019 étaient les affaires dans les arts libéraux, l'économie, la psychologie, la biologie et le gouvernement, mais les étudiants peuvent concevoir leurs propres majors multidisciplinaires. Ils peuvent également vivre dans une ferme biologique dans le cadre d'un programme de développement durable dans lequel ils apprennent à cultiver leur propre nourriture de manière durable :comment planifier et planter un jardin, élever du bétail, conserver la nourriture pour l'hiver et cuisiner ce qu'ils ont produit.
29 / 100
- Lieu :Decorah, IA
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 977
- Ratio étudiants-professeurs :11:1
- Taux d'acceptation :63 %
- Taux de diplomation :79 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :47 400 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :96 %
Le Luther College a un programme Paideia - un terme grec faisant référence à l'éducation - qui a été développé en 1977. Il est composé de trois cours interdisciplinaires et comprend des performances, une série de conférences annuelles, des services d'écriture pour étudiants, des bourses sabbatiques et des ateliers d'été pour les professeurs, et un journal de la faculté intitulé Agora :The Liberal Arts at Luther College.
30 / 100
- Emplacement :Rapid City, SD
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 873
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :15:1
- Taux d'acceptation :83 %
- Taux de diplomation :50 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :56 500 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :94 %
Fondée en 1885 pour capitaliser sur la principale industrie de la région, la South Dakota School of Mines &Technology est connue pour ses offres STEM, ses petites classes enseignées par des professeurs (et non des étudiants diplômés), ses stages et son emplacement dans les Black Hills du Dakota du Sud. Parmi les prix prestigieux que ses étudiants ont remportés depuis 2014 :deux boursiers Fulbright, trois boursiers Goldwater, trois boursiers Udall et un boursier Truman, tous nommés d'après des politiciens célèbres. Il promet des programmes de premier cycle et des cycles supérieurs stimulants en sciences et en ingénierie, ainsi que des projets concrets.
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- Lieu :Kalamazoo, MI
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 457
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :13:1
- Taux d'acceptation :73 %
- Taux de diplomation :79 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :48 700 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :89 %
Kalamazoo College propose le K-Plan :une approche qui intègre les arts libéraux et les sciences et offre aux étudiants un parcours d'études personnalisé. Les étudiants conçoivent leurs propres majors plutôt que de suivre un ensemble fixe de cours, et peuvent effectuer un stage de développement de carrière ou s'impliquer dans le leadership de la justice sociale. Ceux qui souhaitent étudier à l'étranger peuvent choisir parmi 56 programmes dans 29 pays sur six continents. Tous les étudiants sont considérés comme des étudiants d'honneur et font une thèse, une performance ou un travail créatif.
32 / 100
- Lieu :Wooster, OH
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 996
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :11:1
- Taux d'acceptation :54 %
- Taux de diplomation :75 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :46 300 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :93 %
Au College of Wooster, les étudiants suivent le séminaire de première année, un cours intensif d'écriture de pas plus de 15 étudiants enseigné par un conseiller pédagogique, dans lequel ils analysent un large éventail de textes. Tous les étudiants travaillent individuellement avec un mentor du corps professoral sur un projet de recherche et construisent une éducation personnalisée qui leur permet d'être indépendants et créatifs.
33 / 100
- Lieu :Jackson, TN
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :1 778
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :10:1
- Taux d'acceptation :57 %
- Taux de diplomation :71 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :43 200 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :94 %
Union University est une école chrétienne d'arts libéraux proposant des diplômes de licence, de maîtrise et de doctorat. Elle a été fondée en 1823 et est la plus ancienne institution affiliée à la Southern Baptist Convention. Plus de 100 programmes intègrent des universitaires à la foi chrétienne. U.S. News &World Report classe l'Union au premier rang des universités nationales, l'une des rares universités centrées sur le Christ sur la liste.
34 / 100
- Lieu :San Diego, Californie
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 595
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :14:1
- Taux d'acceptation :69 %
- Taux de diplomation :77 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :50 900 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :91 %
L'Université Point Loma Nazarene propose des programmes de premier cycle et des cycles supérieurs et des programmes de fin d'études pour les adultes qui ont des crédits universitaires. Il met l'accent sur la commodité afin que les cours puissent être suivis en ligne, soit dans l'une de ses salles de classe, soit au collège communautaire fréquenté par un étudiant. La salle de classe communautaire amène les élèves dans la communauté de City Heights, où ils peuvent suivre des cours tels que la formation chrétienne et le ministère, la tradition chrétienne, l'espagnol élémentaire, l'éthique, la vie de sainteté et la race et l'ethnicité.
35 / 100
- Lieu :Carlisle, Pennsylvanie
- Inscriptions au premier cycle :2 361
- Ratio étudiants/professeurs :9:1
- Taux d'acceptation :49 %
- Taux de diplomation :84 %
- Salaire médian sur six ans :57 400 $
- Taux d'emploi sur deux ans :92 %
Dickinson College date de 1783 et a été fondé par le révolutionnaire américain Benjamin Rush. Ses étudiants, les Dickinsoniens, sont encouragés à être décisifs, utiles, curieux et n'ont pas peur de prendre des risques. The school provides an interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts and sciences in which each student is paired with a professor-advisor for the first year and participates in the first-year seminar, which focuses on critical thinking and analysis, writing, and library research.
36 / 100
- Location:Portland, OR
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,058
- Student-to-faculty ratio:12:1
- Acceptance rate:74%
- Graduation rate:75%
- Six-year median earnings:$46,200
- Two-year employment rate:92%
Lewis &Clark College has three schools:College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Education and Counseling, and the School of Law. It is committed to interdisciplinary learning and community engagement in Portland and around the world. Its undergraduate program is designed to be completed in four years—and if it takes longer, the college will cover an extra semester of tuition.
37 / 100
- Location:Appleton, WI
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,420
- Student-to-faculty ratio:8:1
- Acceptance rate:62%
- Graduation rate:80%
- Six-year median earnings:$44,100
- Two-year employment rate:92%
Lawrence University is a conservatory of music and liberal arts college, both focused exclusively on an undergraduate education. It offers a bachelor of arts, a bachelor of music, and a combined five-year double degree of both a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of music—50% of incoming conservatory students enroll in the double degree. Besides western classical music, the conservatory offers five world music ensembles:Balinese Gamelan, Ghanaian Ewe Drumming and Dancing, Cuban Drumming and Singing, Brazilian Samba Drumming, and Australian Aboriginal Didjeridu.
38 / 100
- Location:Hartford, CT
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,112
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:34%
- Graduation rate:84%
- Six-year median earnings:$66,100
- Two-year employment rate:93%
Trinity College is a nearly 200-year-old liberal arts school that was founded in the Episcopal tradition and emphasizes religious and academic freedom. It offers internships, research opportunities, community-based learning, and study-away programs. Trinity has three graduate programs in American Studies, English, and Public Policy, plus students can earn both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in American Studies or Neuroscience in five years.
39 / 100
- Location:Longview, TX
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,315
- Student-to-faculty ratio:11:1
- Acceptance rate:46%
- Graduation rate:61%
- Six-year median earnings:$48,200
- Two-year employment rate:93%
LeTourneau University is a Christian polytechnic university that describes itself as a place where its students learn by doing. It is small enough that every student can have a hands-on professional experience. Among its areas of concentration are arts and science, aviation and aeronautical science, business, education, engineering, nursing, and psychology and counseling.
40 / 100
- Location:Greencastle, IN
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,139
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:63%
- Graduation rate:85%
- Six-year median earnings:$54,000
- Two-year employment rate:93%
DePauw University promises small classes, innovative teaching, and an emphasis on free thinking and dialogue, and 30% of its students do real-world research with faculty. Students are encouraged to hold two or more internships, while its interdisciplinary approach brings together departments for shared learning, study groups, and off-campus service.
41 / 100
- Location:Sioux Falls, SD
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,717
- Student-to-faculty ratio:12:1
- Acceptance rate:65%
- Graduation rate:70%
- Six-year median earnings:$43,700
- Two-year employment rate:96%
Augustana University is affiliated with the Lutheran Church and offers more than 100 majors, minors, and pre-professional specializations. In the Civitas Honors Program—”civitas” is Latin for “citizenship”—students examine issues as they relate to citizenship on campus, in the United States, and across the world in small, innovative classes.
42 / 100
- Location:Oberlin, OH
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,758
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:36%
- Graduation rate:86%
- Six-year median earnings:$40,800
- Two-year employment rate:90%
Oberlin College offers both a College of Arts and Sciences and a Conservatory of Music and focuses almost exclusively on undergraduate education. Students learn to become disciplined musicians through classes and opportunities for performances, with majors ranging from historical performance to electronic music. In the College of Arts and Sciences, a first-year seminar encourages critical thinking, writing skills, and discussions with faculty and other students.
43 / 100
- Location:Des Moines, IA
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,834
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:68%
- Graduation rate:78%
- Six-year median earnings:$58,300
- Two-year employment rate:95%
A Drake University education features an honors program, first-year seminars, and programs in world languages and cultures, as well as opportunities to study abroad and take part in internships and independent research. The school has a Constitutional Law Center and a National Rehabilitation Institute. U.S. News &World Report ranks Drake as one of the top five master’s institutions in the Midwest.
44 / 100
- Location:Kings Point, NY
- Undergraduate enrollment:996
- Student-to-faculty ratio:13:1
- Acceptance rate:22%
- Graduation rate:84%
- Six-year median earnings:$88,100
- Two-year employment rate:97%
United States Merchant Marine Academy is a federal service academy that produces licensed Merchant Marine officers and commissioned officers in the armed forces. Midshipmen choose from among programs focused on marine engineering, shipyard management, marine transportation, and maritime security and logistics. Every graduate has completed more than 300 days at sea aboard commercial, passenger, or military vessels ships.
45 / 100
- Location:Socorro, NM
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,269
- Student-to-faculty ratio:8:1
- Acceptance rate:23%
- Graduation rate:56%
- Six-year median earnings:$50,000
- Two-year employment rate:90%
New Mexico Tech was ranked the No. 21 public university in the country in a CNBC article, “The top 50 U.S. colleges that pay off the most in 2020.” A science, engineering, and research university, it was founded in 1893 as the New Mexico School of Mines. Every student is required to take six basic science courses. Students in engineering disciplines must complete the Senior Design Clinic, focused on real-world projects that match them with companies, government agencies, or branches of the military.
46 / 100
- Location:Crawfordsville, IN
- Undergraduate enrollment:881
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:65%
- Graduation rate:71%
- Six-year median earnings:$56,300
- Two-year employment rate:94%
Wabash College is a liberal arts school for men which the Princeton Review has ranked No. 1 for both Best Alumni Network and Best Internship Opportunities. The liberal arts school was founded in 1832 by a group of Dartmouth-educated ministers on what was then the western frontier. Among the courses students complete to graduate are the Freshman Tutorial and Enduring Questions.
47 / 100
- Location:Saint Peter, MN
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,213
- Student-to-faculty ratio:11:1
- Acceptance rate:66%
- Graduation rate:78%
- Six-year median earnings:$51,700
- Two-year employment rate:96%
Gustavus Adolphus College is a liberal arts college founded in 1862 that has a Swedish heritage and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Its Three Crowns Curriculum consists of a sequence of interdisciplinary, discussion-oriented courses that students take together in a group, that emphasizes connections between disciplines as well as between ideas and values, and the past and present.
48 / 100
- Location:Milwaukee, WI
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,491
- Student-to-faculty ratio:15:1
- Acceptance rate:63%
- Graduation rate:74%
- Six-year median earnings:$71,300
- Two-year employment rate:97%
Milwaukee School of Engineering has more labs than classrooms. Its students learn in industry-standard labs taught by professors with industry experience. There is an average of 21 students per class and only 11 per lab. The school works closely with such Wisconsin companies as Harley-Davidson, Snap-on, and Kohler on industry research and innovations.
49 / 100
- Location:Conway, AR
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,194
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:72%
- Graduation rate:71%
- Six-year median earnings:$39,700
- Two-year employment rate:91%
Hendrix College is a liberal arts school that begins its first-year curriculum with The Engaged Citizen (TEC) and Explorations:Liberal Arts for Life. The Odyssey Program provides students with hands-on learning experiences in such categories as global awareness, service to the world, artistic creativity, undergraduate research, and professional and leadership development. For instance, one student studied the Somali refugee community in Minneapolis, while another used music to spark memories in people with dementia.
50 / 100
- Location:Sewanee, TN
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,678
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:65%
- Graduation rate:84%
- Six-year median earnings:$45,500
- Two-year employment rate:93%
Sewanee—The University of the South consists of the College of Arts &Science; the School of Letters; summers-only MA and MFA programs in English and creative writing; and the School of Theology. It has produced 26 Rhodes Scholars, 49 Watson Fellows, 34 National Collegiate Athletic Association Postgraduate Scholars, and dozens of Fulbright Scholars.
51 / 100
- Location:Memphis, TN
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,992
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:45%
- Graduation rate:85%
- Six-year median earnings:$53,600
- Two-year employment rate:92%
Rhodes College is a liberal arts and sciences college, and predominantly an undergraduate school. It does offer a master of science in accounting, a master of arts in urban education, and dual-degree programs in which students may earn a master’s degree from another institution, such as an engineering degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
52 / 100
- Location:Granville, OH
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,365
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:34%
- Graduation rate:85%
- Six-year median earnings:$48,800
- Two-year employment rate:95%
Denison University aims to graduate well-rounded students who have been exposed to the broad curriculum of liberal arts and have studied across disciplines. Denison Seminars are taught by teams off campus, and in the past students have traveled to Cuba, Berlin, the Netherlands, and Canada. Students also can pursue individually-designed majors in commerce, media, and the arts or in comparative literature.
53 / 100
- Location:Lexington, VA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,685
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:51%
- Graduation rate:78%
- Six-year median earnings:$65,700
- Two-year employment rate:97%
Virginia Military Institute, founded in 1838, is the country’s oldest state-supported military college. Its graduates have won a Nobel Prize, 11 Rhodes Scholarships, seven Medals of Honor, and a Pulitzer Prize. It offers majors in the sciences, engineering, and the humanities and features an honors program that provides access to mini-grants for special projects and a writing program.
54 / 100
- Location:Providence, RI
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,994
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:24%
- Graduation rate:89%
- Six-year median earnings:$51,100
- Two-year employment rate:89%
Rhode Island School of Design, or RISD, was founded in 1877, one of the first art and design schools in the United States. It was created by a group of women to support the state’s textile and jewelry industries. Students take liberal arts and studio-based classes, and all first-year students follow the same studio curricula, Experimental and Foundation Studies.
55 / 100
- Location:Greenville, SC
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,665
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:61%
- Graduation rate:80%
- Six-year median earnings:$51,200
- Two-year employment rate:94%
Furman University is a liberal arts and sciences school that was founded in 1826 with classes in fine arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences, and mathematics. It also offers research opportunities and a visual and performing arts program. Its 50-acre campus has a replica of Henry David Thoreau’s cabin plus the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability and a Florentine bell tower.
56 / 100
- Location:Schenectady, NY
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,195
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:39%
- Graduation rate:88%
- Six-year median earnings:$65,400
- Two-year employment rate:94%
In 1795, Union College was the first college chartered in New York and the first liberal arts college in the country to offer engineering. In 2004, the college introduced Minerva Houses to bring the campus community together. All students and faculty belong to one of seven houses, and the school offers first-year preceptorials focusing on critical reading, thinking, and writing skills.
57 / 100
- Location:Wheaton, IL
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,326
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:83%
- Graduation rate:87%
- Six-year median earnings:$48,400
- Two-year employment rate:91%
Wheaton College is a Christian liberal arts and graduate school that was established in 1860. Among the school’s academic centers are The Center for Applied Christian Ethics, the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, the Humanitarian Disaster Institute, and the Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies. In 2016, Wheaton began offering a new curriculum, Christ at the Core, which provides a Christian view of the liberal arts.
58 / 100
- Location:New York, NY
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,633
- Student-to-faculty ratio:7:1
- Acceptance rate:60%
- Graduation rate:83%
- Six-year median earnings:$58,500
- Two-year employment rate:82%
Based in Jewish thought and tradition, Yeshiva University is one of the top Jewish institutions for higher education. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs at Yeshiva College, Stern College for Women, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, among others. A featured program is the Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Studies.
59 / 100
- Location:Gettysburg, PA
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,433
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:45%
- Graduation rate:82%
- Six-year median earnings:$56,100
- Two-year employment rate:95%
Gettysburg College offers a liberal arts and sciences degree. In first-year seminars, a faculty member and a small group of students come together to explore a topic and develop their writing, speaking, critical thinking, and quantitative reasoning. All of the students live in the same residence hall, and the seminars may include field trips and guest speakers. More than half of the students engage in research while at the college.
60 / 100
- Location:Lancaster, PA
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,290
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:35%
- Graduation rate:83%
- Six-year median earnings:$58,900
- Two-year employment rate:95%
Founded in 1787, Franklin &Marshall College is a liberal arts college. Academic centers provide resources for the arts, environmental conservation, writing and problem-solving, and survey research. It has a campus in Bath, England, for its Advanced Study in England program, as well as a partnership with the 85-acre Millport Conservancy in Pennsylvania for research, teaching, and field study.
61 / 100
- Location:Walla Walla, WA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,436
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:50%
- Graduation rate:87%
- Six-year median earnings:$51,300
- Two-year employment rate:86%
Whitman College draws on traditional liberal arts values such as critical thought, but also on the value of community. Founded in 1859 as Whitman Seminary, it became a nonsectarian college in 1883. Each year, the college president chooses a book for the summer reading program, a tradition for all incoming students. The school also sponsors a one-act play contest, and student achievements are celebrated at the Whitman Undergraduate Conference, an annual daylong event.
62 / 100
- Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,907
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:37%
- Graduation rate:85%
- Six-year median earnings:$50,600
- Two-year employment rate:89%
Occidental College works to integrate the liberal arts and sciences with the cultural resources of Los Angeles. It has unique offerings such as the Kahane United Nations Program and Campaign Semester, when students immerse themselves in political campaigns (this year remotely). There is an emphasis on research and senior comprehensives—theses, exhibits, and other presentations.
63 / 100
- Location:Saratoga Springs, NY
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,585
- Student-to-faculty ratio:8:1
- Acceptance rate:27%
- Graduation rate:86%
- Six-year median earnings:$49,700
- Two-year employment rate:95%
Skidmore College is a liberal arts college with an emphasis on creativity, civic responsibility, and interdisciplinary thinking. It offers bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees, and each year, 36 students from the incoming first-year class have the chance to spend their first semester of college in London. The school’s most popular majors include business, psychology, political science, English, economics, theater, and environmental sciences/studies.
64 / 100
- Location:Colorado Springs, CO
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,098
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:15%
- Graduation rate:89%
- Six-year median earnings:$45,400
- Two-year employment rate:91%
Colorado College functions on the Block Plan, with a block lasting for three-and-a-half weeks, during which students take one class at a time, usually from 9 a.m. to noon each day. The blocks are followed by breaks of four days when students are free to relax, to climb one of Colorado’s peaks, or explore the sand dunes of the Southwest.
65 / 100
- Location:Terre Haute, IN
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,063
- Student-to-faculty ratio:11:1
- Acceptance rate:68%
- Graduation rate:81%
- Six-year median earnings:$80,900
- Two-year employment rate:97%
Founded in 1874, Rose‑Hulman Institute of Technology is a top-ranked undergraduate college. It offers science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in state-of-the-art labs, project spaces, and classrooms. A clean room for nanotechnology is open to all students, and the Branam Innovation Center is an open workspace for multidisciplinary collaboration.
66 / 100
- Location:San Antonio, TX
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,433
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:34%
- Graduation rate:76%
- Six-year median earnings:$54,900
- Two-year employment rate:93%
Trinity University was founded in 1869 by Cumberland Presbyterians in Tehuacana, Texas, and has moved four times through three cities. Today it offers more than 100 majors and minors and several interdisciplinary programs. Its Pathways program features six curricular requirements for a foundation in the liberal arts and sciences.
67 / 100
- Location:Claremont, CA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,050
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:13%
- Graduation rate:84%
- Six-year median earnings:$48,700
- Two-year employment rate:86%
Pitzer College is a liberal arts and sciences college that emphasizes environmental and interdisciplinary studies, the arts, humanities, and the sciences. It is part of The Claremont Colleges, five undergraduate colleges and two graduate schools that share programs and faculty. Students can create their own majors, working with faculty.
68 / 100
- Location:Worcester, MA
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,913
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:38%
- Graduation rate:92%
- Six-year median earnings:$71,000
- Two-year employment rate:95%
Founded by the Catholic Jesuit order in 1843, the College of the Holy Cross is a liberal arts school that continues to engage in questions of faith and meaning. Through activities such as “alternative spring break,” its students honor the Jesuit belief of living in solidarity with the poor. The Holy Cross approach to learning is to view problems from multiple perspectives, take risks in seeking solutions, and make connections between separate ideas and fields of study.
69 / 100
- Location:South Hadley, MA
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,177
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:51%
- Graduation rate:83%
- Six-year median earnings:$48,600
- Two-year employment rate:87%
One of the Seven Sisters—East Coast liberal arts colleges for women—Mount Holyoke College remains a women’s college. It was founded by chemist and educator Mary Lyon in 1837. Among its notable graduates are poet Emily Dickinson, playwright Wendy Wasserstein, and Florence Schorske Wald, a nurse and founder of the American hospice movement. It is a member of a consortium of five colleges that also includes Amherst College, Hampshire College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
70 / 100
- Location:Bryn Mawr, PA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,350
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:34%
- Graduation rate:87%
- Six-year median earnings:$54,600
- Two-year employment rate:88%
Bryn Mawr College is another of the Seven Sisters that is still a women’s college, though it has longstanding partnerships with Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges and the University of Pennsylvania. It was established in 1885 to provide a more-rigorous education for women, offered bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the beginning, and was the first women’s school to offer a Ph.D.
71 / 100
- Location:Babson Park, MA
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,361
- Student-to-faculty ratio:14:1
- Acceptance rate:24%
- Graduation rate:91%
- Six-year median earnings:$96,100
- Two-year employment rate:91%
A business school with a focus on entrepreneurship, Babson College offers undergraduate and graduate programs. It has master’s degree programs focused on entrepreneurship, finance, business analytics, and management, as well as an MBA. It offers programs for executives that can be custom-designed for corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, or startups.
72 / 100
- Location:Claremont, CA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,046
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:24%
- Graduation rate:88%
- Six-year median earnings:$54,100
- Two-year employment rate:90%
Scripps College, the women’s college of The Claremont Colleges, is a liberal arts school founded in 1926 by the newspaper publisher and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps. Its top majors are English, computer science, media studies, psychology, politics, and biology/life sciences. All of its students complete a senior thesis or project to graduate.
73 / 100
- Location:Portland, OR
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,453
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:35%
- Graduation rate:81%
- Six-year median earnings:$42,200
- Two-year employment rate:88%
Reed College is a liberal arts and sciences college that was founded in 1908. Undergraduate students can earn a bachelor of arts in more than 40 majors, and in addition to taking a yearlong humanities course, there are broad distribution requirements and a senior thesis. Reed also offers a master of arts degree in liberal studies.
74 / 100
- Location:New York, NY
- Undergraduate enrollment:856
- Student-to-faculty ratio:6:1
- Acceptance rate:16%
- Graduation rate:88%
- Six-year median earnings:$64,900
- Two-year employment rate:93%
The Cooper Union was founded in 1859 by inventor and philanthropist Peter Cooper, who made the school free for working classes and admitted women as well as men. The school offers an education in art, architecture, engineering, humanities, and social sciences. There are centers for sustainable engineering, biomedical engineering, signal processing, and computer engineering.
75 / 100
- Location:Gambier, OH
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,721
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:36%
- Graduation rate:87%
- Six-year median earnings:$48,700
- Two-year employment rate:94%
Kenyon College was founded in 1824 to educate clergymen for the American frontier, but broadened its student roster with its classical offerings. U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes signed its Matriculation Book, as did novelist E.L. Doctorow and film star Paul Newman, and every October, after the Founders' Day Convocation, new first-year students at this liberal arts college do the same. Besides its majors, Kenyon has programs in Rome and at University of Exeter in England.
76 / 100
- Location:Easton, PA
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,603
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:29%
- Graduation rate:87%
- Six-year median earnings:$68,600
- Two-year employment rate:93%
Founded in 1826, Lafayette College offers bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees. Its four academic divisions are the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering, but students can also work with professors to create their own majors. Some examples of those majors include Cultures of Global Ecology, Classical Civilization, and Global Health Studies.
77 / 100
- Location:Northampton, MA
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,490
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:31%
- Graduation rate:89%
- Six-year median earnings:$46,200
- Two-year employment rate:88%
Smith College is one of the Seven Sisters women’s colleges and part of the consortium of colleges that also includes Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Its students are encouraged to take courses in each of these fields:literature, historical studies, social and natural science, the arts, mathematics and analytic philosophy, and a foreign language. Its Presidential Colloquium series is drawing such speakers as New York Times columnists Gail Collins and Bret L. Stephens.
78 / 100
- Location:Lewiston, ME
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,832
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:18%
- Graduation rate:89%
- Six-year median earnings:$59,200
- Two-year employment rate:94%
Bates College was founded in 1855, rooted in freedom and civil rights, and was the first coeducational college in New England. Almost all 36 of its majors require a one- or two-semester senior thesis or capstone project. During the school’s Short Term (late April through May), students focus on only one class, often off campus. For example, students and faculty traveled to the Northern Rockies of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, mapping territory and investigating Yellowstone and other sites.
79 / 100
- Location:Grinnell, IA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,679
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:24%
- Graduation rate:84%
- Six-year median earnings:$49,100
- Two-year employment rate:92%
Grinnell College is a liberal arts and sciences school that was founded in 1846. Only one class is required of all students, the First-Year Tutorial, and 40% of students complete a Mentored Advanced Project. The Grinnell College Innovator for Social Justice Prize (aka the Grinnell Prize) honors leaders who show “creativity, commitment, and extraordinary accomplishment” in bringing about social change.
80 / 100
- Location:Poughkeepsie, NY
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,442
- Student-to-faculty ratio:8:1
- Acceptance rate:25%
- Graduation rate:92%
- Six-year median earnings:$54,600
- Two-year employment rate:93%
Vassar was one of the Seven Sisters colleges but has been coeducational since 1969. Founded in 1861, the liberal arts school uses original source materials in several departments, a tradition at Vassar since the 1880s. Its rare book collection includes key books in women’s history, as well as first editions of English and American literary and historical works.
81 / 100
- Location:Saint Paul, MN
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,140
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:41%
- Graduation rate:90%
- Six-year median earnings:$47,600
- Two-year employment rate:91%
Macalester College is a liberal arts school emphasizing internationalism, multiculturalism, and service to society, in order to prepare students for a globally-connected world. Students get real-world experiences through opportunities in the Twin Cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Its International Development concentration looks at how wealth and resources are distributed worldwide, while International Studies looks at human rights, global health, migration, and other topics.
82 / 100
- Location:Clinton, NY
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,991
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:21%
- Graduation rate:93%
- Six-year median earnings:$60,200
- Two-year employment rate:91%
Hamilton College, named after treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton, is one of the three-dozen oldest colleges in the country—it was founded in 1793 as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy and chartered as a college in 1812. One unique look into the history of the school:Almost every year since 1865, a member of the 50th reunion class has reminisced about life on College Hill. Hamilton’s open curriculum allows students to create their own course of study.
83 / 100
- Location:Middletown, CT
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,928
- Student-to-faculty ratio:8:1
- Acceptance rate:17%
- Graduation rate:89%
- Six-year median earnings:$54,700
- Two-year employment rate:90%
Wesleyan University, which was founded in 1831, bills itself as a liberal arts and sciences school where critical thinking is matched with practical idealism. It is committed to interdisciplinary learning and an open curriculum, offers unique research opportunities, and has worked to develop internships and link sustainability to its academic programs.
84 / 100
- Location:Davidson, NC
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,843
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:19%
- Graduation rate:90%
- Six-year median earnings:$58,900
- Two-year employment rate:88%
Davidson College, a liberal arts college, was founded in 1837 by Presbyterians. Its Honor Code is central to the school’s environment and is marked by the Honor Code signing ceremony for first-year students. The college created a Commission on Race and Slavery to examine how its history is tied to slavery’s institution and legacy.
85 / 100
- Location:Hamilton, NY
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,936
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:25%
- Graduation rate:89%
- Six-year median earnings:$63,600
- Two-year employment rate:93%
Colgate University's foundational core curriculum connects to all of its majors and provides a shared experience for its students. Some of the core classes include Legacies of the Ancient World, Challenges of Modernity, and Communities and Identities. 13 is considered a lucky number at Colgate because in 1817, the 13 founders of what was then the Baptist Education Society backed it with $13 and 13 prayers.
86 / 100
- Location:Wellesley, MA
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,391
- Student-to-faculty ratio:8:1
- Acceptance rate:20%
- Graduation rate:92%
- Six-year median earnings:$60,800
- Two-year employment rate:94%
Wellesley College’s motto is “Non Ministrari sed Ministrare,” or “Not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” As one of the Seven Sisters, the liberal arts women’s college requires students to gain broad knowledge through the core curriculum, at which point they can then follow their own interests and choose interdisciplinary majors. About half of the students study abroad, and can also enroll in cross-registration programs with Babson College, Brandeis University, MIT, and Olin College of Engineering. They can also apply to earn a double degree with MIT or a combined five-year bachelor’s and master’s degree in international economics and finance with Brandeis.
87 / 100
- Location:Swarthmore, PA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,554
- Student-to-faculty ratio:8:1
- Acceptance rate:9%
- Graduation rate:94%
- Six-year median earnings:$56,700
- Two-year employment rate:85%
At Swarthmore College, the first semester is pass-fail, the liberal arts curriculum is paired with an accredited engineering program, and the honors program features examinations given by outside experts. The college was founded by the Society of Friends (or Quakers). The Tri-Co Consortium connects the school with Bryn Mawr and Haverford colleges.
88 / 100
- Location:New York, NY
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,519
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:14%
- Graduation rate:91%
- Six-year median earnings:$58,200
- Two-year employment rate:87%
Because of its connection with Columbia University, Barnard College combines the advantages of a small, selective women's college with those of an “elite research university.” Columbia classes are open to all Barnard students, and Barnard students can pick a major at Columbia. The undergraduate college, one of the Seven Sisters, has access to more than 30 libraries and collections, as well as top-notch scientific and research facilities.
89 / 100
- Location:Claremont, CA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,321
- Student-to-faculty ratio:8:1
- Acceptance rate:9%
- Graduation rate:91%
- Six-year median earnings:$58,200
- Two-year employment rate:87%
Claremont McKenna College, a liberal arts school, is one of the Claremont Colleges, a “seven-college consortium” modeled on Oxford University. Students benefit from small classes and a nine-to-one student-faculty ratio but also have access to a larger research university. More than 90% of the students complete internships, and nearly half study off campus. The Center for Global Education helps students receive a global education.
90 / 100
- Location:Middlebury, VT
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,551
- Student-to-faculty ratio:8:1
- Acceptance rate:17%
- Graduation rate:91%
- Six-year median earnings:$58,200
- Two-year employment rate:87%
Middlebury College is a classic liberal arts college with graduate and specialized undergraduate programs that operate around the world. It emphasizes “reflection, discussion, and intensive interactions between students and faculty members” not only for the humanities, social sciences, arts, and languages but also for scientific and mathematics majors. It is also known for the Middlebury Language Schools, the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English, and its Writers’ Conference.
91 / 100
- Location:Amherst, MA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,855
- Student-to-faculty ratio:7:1
- Acceptance rate:13%
- Graduation rate:93%
- Six-year median earnings:$65,000
- Two-year employment rate:90%
Amherst College was founded in 1821 and emphasizes liberal arts and critical thinking. It's defined by its small classes, open curriculum, and emphasis on undergraduate education. It is part of the Five College Consortium including Mount Holyoke College, Hampshire College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The consortium has four centers for specialized study of the Americas, East Asia, world languages, and women’s studies.
92 / 100
- Location:Lexington, VA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,825
- Student-to-faculty ratio:8:1
- Acceptance rate:21%
- Graduation rate:95%
- Six-year median earnings:$76,100
- Two-year employment rate:94%
Washington &Lee University combines liberal arts with undergraduate programs in business and journalism, as well as a graduate law school. It is the ninth-oldest institution of higher education in the country, and its motto is “not unmindful of the future.” A gift of 100 shares of James River Canal Company stock from George Washington helped the school when it was struggling in the 18th century, while Robert E. Lee served as its president in the mid-1800s.
93 / 100
- Location:Waterville, ME
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,000
- Student-to-faculty ratio:10:1
- Acceptance rate:13%
- Graduation rate:90%
- Six-year median earnings:$58,100
- Two-year employment rate:92%
Colby College was founded in 1813 and is the 12th-oldest private liberal arts college in the country. Its “Jan Plan” allows for all manner of exploration, from ecosystems in Belize to studying Italian literature in Italy. Other innovations the school is known for include its graduate-level research opportunities and its tradition of close collaboration with professors.
94 / 100
- Location:Haverford, PA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,308
- Student-to-faculty ratio:8:1
- Acceptance rate:19%
- Graduation rate:92%
- Six-year median earnings:$60,700
- Two-year employment rate:92%
Haverford College expects all of its students to be involved in research and to learn from their professors’ scholarship. Its academic centers support research and the arts on campus and helps students travel across the world. Its Honor Code is written and governed entirely by its students, and most classes are seminars with an emphasis on discussion and debate.
95 / 100
- Location:Williamstown, MA
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,042
- Student-to-faculty ratio:6:1
- Acceptance rate:13%
- Graduation rate:95%
- Six-year median earnings:$59,000
- Two-year employment rate:90%
Students at Williams College can major in core areas of study and can choose concentrations, or courses grouped around certain topics. There are no required courses, but all students take at least three in arts and humanities, three in social sciences, three in science and mathematics, and at least two that are writing-intensive. The Williams tutorials are adapted from the Oxford University system.
96 / 100
- Location:Northfield, MN
- Undergraduate enrollment:2,077
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:20%
- Graduation rate:93%
- Six-year median earnings:$54,200
- Two-year employment rate:91%
Carleton College was founded in 1866 by the General Conference of the Congregational Churches of Minnesota, led by Northfield businessman Charles M. Goodsell:Today it has no formal religious affiliation. Every course at Carleton is taught by a professor, not a teaching assistant. Its academic centers include ones for global and regional studies, community and civic engagement, and "writing across the curriculum."
97 / 100
- Location:Claremont, CA
- Undergraduate enrollment:887
- Student-to-faculty ratio:8:1
- Acceptance rate:14%
- Graduation rate:92%
- Six-year median earnings:$88,800
- Two-year employment rate:89%
The humanist goal of Harvey Mudd College—another member of the Claremont Colleges—is “to educate engineers, scientists, and mathematicians well versed in all of these areas and in the humanities and the social sciences so that they may assume leadership in their fields with a clear understanding of the impact of their work on society.” The school was chartered in 1955 and opened just as the Space Race was getting underway, with an emphasis on technical training. It offers bachelor of science degrees in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, and independent study.
98 / 100
- Location:Brunswick, ME
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,825
- Student-to-faculty ratio:9:1
- Acceptance rate:10%
- Graduation rate:95%
- Six-year median earnings:$65,500
- Two-year employment rate:93%
Bowdoin College was founded in 1794, making it older than the state of Maine itself. It is a liberal arts school that requires each student to complete one first-year seminar and one course in one of the following areas:mathematical, computational, or statistical reasoning; the natural sciences; social difference; international perspectives; or visual and performing arts. One other fact:761 Snickers bars were eaten on 2018 orientation trips, or about 1.5 bars for each first-year student.
99 / 100
- Location:Claremont, CA
- Undergraduate enrollment:1,559
- Student-to-faculty ratio:7:1
- Acceptance rate:8%
- Graduation rate:94%
- Six-year median earnings:$58,100
- Two-year employment rate:90%
All Pomona College students take critical-inquiry seminars as they start their studies. Offerings include Molecules and the Mind, on the use of psychoactive medication, and I Disagree, about the importance of disagreement. One that typically focuses on vaccines, Science and the Public’s Health, will be reshaped to address the coronavirus pandemic. A liberal arts school, and one of the Claremont Colleges, Pomona offers courses in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
100 / 100
- Location:Pasadena, CA
- Undergraduate enrollment:948
- Student-to-faculty ratio:3:1
- Acceptance rate:7%
- Graduation rate:92%
- Six-year median earnings:$85,900
- Two-year employment rate:89%
California Institute of Technology is a science and engineering institute that delves into fundamental scientific questions, and its students work closely with faculty in small classes toward undergraduate and graduate degrees. The institute manages NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which explores the planets of our solar system, and owns and operates research facilities such as the Seismological Laboratory and the Palomar Observatory. It also cofounded and comanages the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).
