by our College Data Analytics TeamIn 2025, College Factual analyzed 217 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Liberal Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 21,178 bachelor's degrees in liberal arts during the <nil> academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Your choice of liberal arts for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality liberal studies program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for liberal arts students working on their bachelor's degree.
The liberal studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Liberal Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for liberal arts students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
New York University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in liberal arts. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from New York University
Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in liberal arts needs to look into Georgetown University. Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Georgetown University
It is difficult to beat Yale University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in liberal arts. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Yale University
It is hard to beat The University of Texas at Austin if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in liberal arts. UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the city of Austin.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from The University of Texas at Austin
University of Oklahoma is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Norman.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
Villanova is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Villanova University
Located in the midsize city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Arizona State University - Tempe
Located in the suburb of Moraga, SMC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Saint Mary’s College of California
Located in the city of Tampa, USF Tampa is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from University of South Florida - Main Campus
Located in the large suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from George Mason University
Located in the city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from North Carolina State University
Drexel is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Drexel University
Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from University of Iowa
Sac State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Sacramento.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from California State University - Sacramento
Located in the city of Green Bay, UW - Green Bay is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
Located in the rural area of Santa Paula, TAC is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Thomas Aquinas College
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from San Diego State University
Located in the town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
Located in the city of Lawrence, KU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from University of Kansas
Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from University of Notre Dame
Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from James Madison University
UNI is a medium-sized public university located in the city of Cedar Falls.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from University of Northern Iowa
Located in the large suburb of Newark, UD is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from University of Delaware
NAU is a very large public university located in the small city of Flagstaff.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Northern Arizona University
Here are some additional great schools for Liberal Arts students that almost earned our Best Liberal Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
View the Best Liberal Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
One of 3 majors within the Liberal Arts General Studies area of study, Liberal Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Studies | 12,488 |
| Individualized Studies | 2,686 |
| Humanities | 1,461 |
