2023 Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor's Degree School for You
With 556,813 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, liberal arts / sciences and humanities is the #3 most popular major in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 429 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the liberal arts / sciences and humanities bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Liberal Arts & Humanities
Our analysis found Massachusetts Institute of Technology to be the best school for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the United States. Located in the city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend American Public University System. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Out of the 429 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Excelsior College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Excelsior College is a large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Albany.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means North Carolina State University is a great place for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. NC State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Raleigh.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bentley University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Bentley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Waltham.
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Georgetown University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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Northwestern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
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With a ranking of #8, National University did quite well on this year’s best schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Brandman University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. Brandman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Irvine.
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The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the large city of Austin.
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With a ranking of #11, Columbia College did quite well on this year’s best schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. Columbia College Missouri is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Columbia.
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University of Notre Dame came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.
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Drexel University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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University of Missouri - Columbia did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Mizzou is a very large public school located in the city of Columbia.
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Thomas Edison State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. TESU is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Trenton.
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DePaul University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
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Southern Methodist University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. SMU is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Dallas.
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With a ranking of #18, Wayland Baptist University did quite well on this year’s best schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. Wayland Baptist University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Plainview.
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University of Chicago landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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The King’s College landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. Located in the city of New York, TKC is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
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Loyola Marymount University landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Saint Joseph’s University landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. St. Joe's is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
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Rider University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Rider is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Lawrenceville.
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University of Kansas ranked #24 on this year’s Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Lawrence, KU is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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Union College New York came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Union College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Schenectady.
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Additional Award Winners
This section represents the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 429 different United States liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Morgan State University | Baltimore, MD |
| 52 | Belmont University | Nashville, TN |
| 53 | Sam Houston State University | Huntsville, TX |
| 54 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
| 55 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI |
| 56 | University of Oklahoma Norman Campus | Norman, OK |
| 57 | James Madison University | Harrisonburg, VA |
| 58 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA |
| 59 | West Liberty University | West Liberty, WV |
| 60 | Saint Mary’s College of California | Moraga, CA |
| 61 | Saint Louis University | Saint Louis, MO |
| 62 | Westmont College | Santa Barbara, CA |
| 63 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
| 64 | Simpson College | Indianola, IA |
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Liberal Arts & Humanities students that almost earned our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 65 | Troy University | Troy, AL |
| 66 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha, NE |
| 67 | Southern New Hampshire University | Manchester, NH |
| 68 | Rutgers University - Camden | Camden, NJ |
| 69 | University of Missouri - Kansas City | Kansas City, MO |
| 70 | New York University | New York, NY |
| 71 | Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus | Teaneck, NJ |
| 72 | Ball State University | Muncie, IN |
| 73 | University of Central Missouri | Warrensburg, MO |
| 74 | Iowa State University | Ames, IA |
| 75 | University of Central Oklahoma | Edmond, OK |
| 76 | Baker College | Owosso, MI |
| 77 | University of Central Florida | Orlando, FL |
| 78 | Shenandoah University | Winchester, VA |
| 79 | Providence College | Providence, RI |
| 80 | Seattle University | Seattle, WA |
| 81 | Stockton University | Galloway, NJ |
| 82 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester, PA |
| 83 | Tennessee Technological University | Cookeville, TN |
| 84 | University of Southern Indiana | Evansville, IN |
| 85 | Texas Christian University | Fort Worth, TX |
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities by Region
View the Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Rankings
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Related Rankings by Major
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 556,813 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Visual & Performing Arts | 149,215 |
| English Language & Literature | 54,635 |
| Foreign Languages & Linguistics | 33,333 |
| Theology & Religious Vocations | 27,459 |
| Philosophy & Religious Studies | 19,993 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 the rest 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Jacques Sablet (Switzerland, Morges, 1749-1803).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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