2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 3rd of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 559,661 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2017-2018, liberal arts / sciences and humanities graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $26,786 and had an average of $16,538 in loans still to pay off.
Across Massachusetts, there were 3,758 liberal arts / sciences and humanities graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,110 and $17,045 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 913 liberal arts / sciences and humanities graduates with average earnings and debt of $42,887 and $24,387 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts” ranking, we looked at 18 colleges that offer a degree in liberal arts / sciences and humanities. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the liberal arts / sciences and humanities program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
The liberal arts / sciences & humanities 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 “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts”.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts.
Top 18 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities in Massachusetts
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Westfield State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Westfield State University is located in Westfield, Massachusetts and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 156 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.
Westfield also made our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $19,167 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students per year to attend Westfield State University.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Westfield State University Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Framingham State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts. Framingham State is a small school located in Framingham, Massachusetts that handed out 45 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Framingham State also took the #8 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Framingham State University is $20,001 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
Full Framingham State University Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
Out of the 18 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Massachusetts Amherst landed the #3 spot on the list. Amherst, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 95 students in 2019-2020.
UMass Amherst also took the #5 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Massachusetts Amherst is $22,501 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at University of Massachusetts Amherst
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Massachusetts - Lowell. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Located in Lowell, Massachusetts, this fairly large public school handed out 105 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities students in 2019-2020.
UMass Lowell also took the #7 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UMass Lowell is $19,119 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at UMass Lowell
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts. University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth is located in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 25 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students list, UMass Dartmouth has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UMass Dartmouth is $18,503 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at UMass Dartmouth
Salem State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Salem, Massachusetts, this medium-sized public school handed out 7 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities students in 2019-2020.
Salem State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #17 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. The yearly cost to attend Salem State University is $18,399 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
Full Salem State Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
Lesley University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Lesley University is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 75 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Lesley, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Lesley University is $33,644 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Lesley University Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
Eastern Nazarene College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking. This small school is located in Quincy, Massachusetts, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
ENC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #15 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. The yearly cost to attend ENC is $20,751 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Eastern Nazarene College Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
With a ranking of #9, Endicott College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Endicott College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Beverly, Massachusetts. The school has a small population, and it awarded 47 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students list, Endicott has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Endicott is $35,642 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
The low student loan default rate of 3.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Endicott College
Bay Path University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #10. Bay Path is a small school located in Longmeadow, Massachusetts that handed out 43 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Bay Path did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $22,211 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students per year to attend Bay Path University.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Bay Path University
American International College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking. American International College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Springfield, Massachusetts. The school has a small population, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
AIC also made our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #10. The estimated yearly cost for AIC is $25,044 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at American International College
Springfield College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Springfield College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Springfield, Massachusetts. It awarded 14 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students list, Springfield College has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $30,134 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students per year to attend Springfield College.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Full Springfield College Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
Curry College landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking. Milton, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.
Curry also took the #16 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Curry College is $27,739 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Curry
With a ranking of #14, Regis College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Regis College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Weston, Massachusetts. It awarded 1 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Regis College also made our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #14. The estimated yearly cost for Regis College is $30,408 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Regis College
Dean College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking. Dean College is a small school located in Franklin, Massachusetts that handed out 5 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Dean College also took the #18 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Dean College is $31,337 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
Full Dean College Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
Massachusetts Institute of Technology landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 10 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at MIT, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend MIT is $16,636 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students.
The low student loan default rate of 1.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 98%.
Bentley University landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking. Located in Waltham, Massachusetts, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 126 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bentley, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Bentley University is $38,986 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Bentley University
Harvard University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. This large school is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it awarded 34 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Harvard also took the #3 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $15,386 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students per year to attend Harvard.
The low student loan default rate of 1.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Harvard
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
Footnotes
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Jacques Sablet (Switzerland, Morges, 1749-1803).
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