Using science and data we decided to determine which programs offer the best career opportunities for liberal arts Majors. Here are the set of the top colleges for liberal arts Majors in US for 2021:
- Purdue University
- SUNY at Binghamton
- SUNY Farmingdale
- Northwestern University
- Stanford University
- University of Virginia
- Clemson University
- SUNY at Buffalo
- Baruch College of the City University of New York
- Vanderbilt University
25 best colleges for liberal arts majors in the US
1. Purdue University
Location
West Lafayette, IN
2. SUNY at Binghamton
Location
Vestal, NY
3. SUNY Farmingdale
Location
Farmingdale, NY
4. Northwestern University
Location
Evanston, IL
5. Stanford University
Location
Stanford, CA
6. Clemson University
Location
Clemson, SC
7. University of Virginia
Location
Charlottesville, VA
8. SUNY at Buffalo
Location
Buffalo, NY
9. Baruch College of the City University of New York
Location
New York, NY
10. Vanderbilt University
Location
Nashville, TN
11. University of Wisconsin - Madison
Location
Madison, WI
12. SUNY Stony Brook
Location
Stony Brook, NY
13. Johns Hopkins University
Location
Baltimore, MD
14. University of Rochester
Location
Rochester, NY
15. Boston College
Location
Chestnut Hill, MA
16. Tufts University
Location
Medford, MA
17. Duke University
Location
Durham, NC
18. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Location
Ann Arbor, MI
19. Loyola Marymount University
Location
Los Angeles, CA
20. SUNY Maritime College
Location
Throggs Neck, NY
21. San Jose State University
Location
San Jose, CA
22. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
23. SUNY at Albany
Location
Albany, NY
24. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
Location
San Luis Obispo, CA
25. Washington University in St Louis
Location
Saint Louis, MO
How we determined the best liberal arts colleges
We looked at the following data from the NCES (National Center For Education Statistics) and College Scorecard data from ED.gov to understand what liberal arts departments offer the best career opportunities:
- Percentage of Graduating Class That Are Business Majors
- Mean Earnings After 10 Years
- Mean Earnings After 6 Years
- Admission Rate (More selective the better)
- Average cost of attendance (Lower is better)
- Median amount of debt
- Ratio of people working to not working after 10 years
Most popular jobs for liberal arts majors
Updated November 17, 2023