2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
There are about 2,263,015 students enrolled in Liberal Arts and Sciences in the USA.
Menu: summary
popularity
Very Popular
Compared to national avg.
Diplomas received last year
203,380
Vs. National Avg.
1779%
popularity Rank
#3
cost
Very Affordable
Compared to national avg.
Median degree cost
$19K
Vs. National Avg.
-22%
cost Rank
#338
salary
Low Paying
Compared to national avg.
Average Salary Two Years Out of School
$37K
Vs. National Avg.
-7%
salary Rank
#345
professors
Not Very Good
Compared to national avg.
Professor Rating
C+
Vs. National Avg.
-7%
professors Rank
#339
students
Not Very Diverse
Compared to national avg.
Diversity Rating
C+
Vs. National Avg.
-4%
students Rank
#320
LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES DEGREES
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES
Liberal arts and sciences is much more popular than most concentrations in the United States of America. Each subject confers around 6,156 annual undergrad degrees; last spring, 24,981 students earned an undergraduate degree in liberal arts and sciences, making it the United States of America's 25th most popular major for undergrads. 1,753 of those degrees were awarded at a single college, Excelsior College, and 5,485 of those degrees were earned at schools in California.
Bachelor's degrees in liberal arts and sciences are available at 637 schools in the USA; ipso facto, it might not be easy to determine the right fit for you. At the college level, liberal arts and sciences is 3.3 times more commonly offered than the average field, making it the 31st most broadly available U.S. focus.
GRADUATE DEGREES
While 95% of last year's degrees in liberal arts and sciences were undergraduate degrees; 5% were postgraduate degrees. Liberal arts and sciences is the 106th most popular postgraduate degree in the United States, with 1,286 degrees awarded. For context, liberal arts and sciences is 54% less popular among postgrads than the average subject.
In Total, 26,267 students received a bachelor's or higher in liberal arts and sciences last year.
ONLINE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES DEGREES
4,094 of those 26,267 students (15.6%) did all their studies remotely - 3,915 undergrad students and 179 master's & doctor's students. As you've probably noticed by now, liberal arts and sciences is an incredibly in-demand online undergraduate major. It's the 11th most popular online concentration with 8.1 times the nation's average of 481 undergrads per major. For graduate students, it is ranked 101st, and is 70.9% shy of the American average (616).
Excelsior College awarded the most online undergraduate degrees in liberal arts and sciences in the United States (1,753). Last fall, 22,674 undergraduate students were enrolled in the school remotely, 100% of their student body. They offer 54 online courses of study, which is 100% of their courses.
Moreover, Colleges from New York conferred the most online undergraduate degrees in liberal arts and sciences last spring (1,818). By itself, the state graduates 46% of the country's online students.
15.7% of all four-year degrees in liberal arts and sciences are completed completely online, (13.9% for advanced degrees). 53.4% of Charter Oak State College's last undergraduate class majored in liberal arts and sciences exclusively online, higher than any other college in the country. 251 students in their 470 student class earned an online undergraduate degree in liberal arts and sciences. They offer 100% of their degrees entirely online, and had 1,547 enrolled online undergraduate students last fall. That's 100% of the student body.
There are 141 institutions in the nation with a comprehensively online undergraduate degree in liberal arts and sciences, making it the 31st most commonly offered online discipline in the US. Narrowly shy of two out of every nine institutions with the degree even have a remote option, and 57% of the institutions providing the degree remotely are public. The remaining 43% are private. California has the most completely online programs of any state, with 10 schools to choose from.
If you wish to study liberal arts and sciences entirely online, you should look at the University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus, as it has the 20th best liberal arts and sciences program in the US. It also awards an additional 35 degrees entirely remotely, so you will be able to explore classes in other subjects. Additionally, there are 868 online undergraduate students attending, which is 4% of the undergraduate population.
PARTIALLY ONLINE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES DEGREES
- Liberal arts and sciences is the 24th most popular partially online four-year degree in the USA
- Liberal arts and sciences is the 40th most broadly offered partially online undergraduate degree nationally
- 22.35% of all undergrad degree in liberal arts and sciences are done partially online
- Florida International University awarded 208 partially online undergraduate degrees in liberal arts and sciences, more than any other college in America
- Liberal arts and sciences is the 102nd most popular partially online advanced degree in the USA
- The typical focus confers 320 annual advanced degrees partially online
IN-PERSON LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES DEGREES
- Last year, 15,451 people earned undergrad degrees in liberal arts and sciences in-person
- In-person undergrad degrees in liberal arts and sciences are offered at 60 schools countrywide
- 61.85% of all undergrad degree in liberal arts and sciences are earned in-person
- The University of Virginia-Main Campus granted more totally in-person undergraduate degrees in liberal arts and sciences than any other institution in America (926)
- Last May, 94% of in-person degrees in liberal arts and sciences were bachelor's degrees; 6% were postgrad degrees
- The typical concentration hands out 1,836 graduate degrees per year in-person
Top 25 Best Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Search for the best Liberal Arts and Sciences online colleges according to your filter parameters.
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Rating
#1 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Excelsior College
Albany, NY | www.excelsior.edu/
A+
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#2 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA | https://www.virginia.edu/
A+
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#3 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
New York University
New York, NY | www.nyu.edu/
A−
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#4 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Arizona State University Digital Immersion
Scottsdale, AZ | www.asu.edu/
A−
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#5 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
St. John's College
Annapolis, MD | www.sjc.edu/
B+
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#6 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
St. John's College
Santa Fe, NM | www.sjc.edu/
A+
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#7 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD | www.jhu.edu/
A+
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#8 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA | www.harvard.edu/
A
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#9 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, NY | www.sarahlawrence.edu/
A+
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#10 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA | www.upenn.edu/
A+
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#11 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Georgetown University
Washington, DC | www.georgetown.edu/
A
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#12 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL | www.usf.edu/
A+
Rating
#13 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL | www.ufl.edu/
A−
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#14 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
Norman, OK | www.ou.edu/
A
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#15 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Florida International University
Miami, FL | www.fiu.edu/
B+
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#16 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Union Institute & University
Cincinnati, OH | https://www.myunion.edu/
A
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#17 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Averett University-Non-Traditional Programs
Danville, VA | https://gps.averett.edu/
A+
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#18 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA | https://drexel.edu/
A
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#19 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA | www.jmu.edu/
A
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#20 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Indiana University-Bloomington
Bloomington, IN | www.indiana.edu/
A+
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#21 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC | www.ncsu.edu/
A+
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#22 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Yale University
New Haven, CT | https://www.yale.edu/
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#23 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
California State University-Northridge
Northridge, CA | https://www.csun.edu/
A
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#24 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL | www.ucf.edu/
A
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#25 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA | https://www2.gmu.edu/