Find a Job You Really Want In
One of the biggest things that incoming college freshmen consider when they’re thinking about what school to attend is the likelihood that a school will improve their job prospects.
Jobs are hard to come by nowadays, after all, and the everyday expenses of living in a country like America aren’t cheap.
Compared to a lot of other states, Arkansas has some unique advantages as far as attending college here goes. There are impressive research universities, quality state schools, and the ability to study majors that will prepare you well for the job market.
All that made us curious — with so many good colleges to attend in AR, which ones, in particular, were most likely to help their graduates land a job? Using data from IPEDS as well as College Scorecard as a baseline, we created this list of some of the best colleges for jobs in Arkansas.
The full list can be found further down, but first, here’s a look at the top ten best colleges for jobs in Arkansas:
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
- Williams Baptist University
- John Brown University
- Hendrix College
- University of Central Arkansas
- Lyon College
- Ouachita Baptist University
- Harding University
- University of Arkansas
- University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
If you go to one of these schools, chances are, you’re not surprised. After all, you know how great you have it.
But for the rest of you — keep reading and we’ll get to just why these schools have some of the best programs the state of Arkansas has to offer.
How We Determined The Best Schools In Arkansas For Jobs
Using the College Scorecard Data, we searched for the college in each state with the highest listed job placement ratings, looking specifically at employment levels at year 10 after students have graduated.
We limited the analysis to the 19 public and non-profit, four year institutions colleges in Arkansas that offer at least a bachelors degree.
Then, we ranked each college from best to worst on the percentage of graduates with jobs. For the purposes of readability, each school’s rating was then rounded down to the last two decimal places.
The school with the highest percentage of grads with jobs, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, earned the distinction of being the ‘Best College For Jobs in Arkansas.’
Best Colleges For Getting A Job In Arkansas
| Rank | College | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences | 93.06% |
| 2 | Williams Baptist University | 90.82% |
| 3 | John Brown University | 89.32% |
| 4 | Hendrix College | 89.32% |
| 5 | University of Central Arkansas | 89.29% |
| 6 | Lyon College | 89.13% |
| 7 | Ouachita Baptist University | 88.69% |
| 8 | Harding University | 87.93% |
| 9 | University of Arkansas | 87.91% |
| 10 | University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | 86.71% |
| 11 | Henderson State University | 85.75% |
| 12 | Southern Arkansas University Main Campus | 85.65% |
| 13 | Philander Smith College | 85.39% |
| 14 | University of Arkansas at Monticello | 85.23% |
| 15 | Arkansas Tech University | 84.78% |
| 16 | Arkansas State University-Main Campus | 83.5% |
| 17 | University of Arkansas at Little Rock | 82.83% |
| 18 | University of Arkansas-Fort Smith | 82.81% |
| 19 | Arkansas Baptist College | 74.4% |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
