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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.

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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.

B

Rating

#1 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

Excelsior College

Albany, NY | www.excelsior.edu/

0%

Acceptance

33,516

Students

#779

Ranking

$0

Tuition

A+

Rating

#2 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

University of Virginia-Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA | https://www.virginia.edu/

23%

Acceptance

29,237

Students

#38

Ranking

$53K

Tuition

A+

Rating

#3 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

New York University

New York, NY | www.nyu.edu/

21%

Acceptance

58,361

Students

#23

Ranking

$55K

Tuition

A−

Rating

#4 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

Arizona State University Digital Immersion

Scottsdale, AZ | www.asu.edu/

73%

Acceptance

69,608

Students

#509

Ranking

$11K

Tuition

A−

Rating

#5 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

St. John's College

Annapolis, MD | www.sjc.edu/

61%

Acceptance

599

Students

#419

Ranking

$36K

Tuition

B+

Rating

#6 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

St. John's College

Santa Fe, NM | www.sjc.edu/

69%

Acceptance

451

Students

#578

Ranking

$36K

Tuition

A+

Rating

#7 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD | www.jhu.edu/

11%

Acceptance

34,250

Students

#4

Ranking

$54K

Tuition

A+

Rating

#8 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA | www.harvard.edu/

5%

Acceptance

41,024

Students

#3

Ranking

$54K

Tuition

A

Rating

#9 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

Sarah Lawrence College

Bronxville, NY | www.sarahlawrence.edu/

55%

Acceptance

1,728

Students

#217

Ranking

$58K

Tuition

A+

Rating

#10 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA | www.upenn.edu/

9%

Acceptance

30,688

Students

#7

Ranking

$60K

Tuition

A+

Rating

#11 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

Georgetown University

Washington, DC | www.georgetown.edu/

17%

Acceptance

22,720

Students

#19

Ranking

$58K

Tuition

A

Rating

#12 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

University of South Florida

Tampa, FL | www.usf.edu/

49%

Acceptance

60,343

Students

#220

Ranking

$17K

Tuition

A+

Rating

#13 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL | www.ufl.edu/

31%

Acceptance

58,857

Students

#76

Ranking

$29K

Tuition

A−

Rating

#14 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus

Norman, OK | www.ou.edu/

83%

Acceptance

31,445

Students

#440

Ranking

$27K

Tuition

A

Rating

#15 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

Florida International University

Miami, FL | www.fiu.edu/

58%

Acceptance

73,970

Students

#364

Ranking

$19K

Tuition

B+

Rating

#16 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

Union Institute & University

Cincinnati, OH | https://www.myunion.edu/

0%

Acceptance

1,253

Students

#651

Ranking

$16K

Tuition

A

Rating

#17 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

Averett University-Non-Traditional Programs

Danville, VA | https://gps.averett.edu/

9%

Acceptance

701

Students

#299

Ranking

$12K

Tuition

A+

Rating

#18 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA | https://drexel.edu/

77%

Acceptance

27,720

Students

#161

Ranking

$56K

Tuition

A

Rating

#19 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA | www.jmu.edu/

80%

Acceptance

24,039

Students

#292

Ranking

$29K

Tuition

A

Rating

#20 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

Indiana University-Bloomington

Bloomington, IN | www.indiana.edu/

80%

Acceptance

46,441

Students

#265

Ranking

$38K

Tuition

A+

Rating

#21 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

North Carolina State University at Raleigh

Raleigh, NC | www.ncsu.edu/

46%

Acceptance

40,537

Students

#136

Ranking

$29K

Tuition

A+

Rating

#22 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

Yale University

New Haven, CT | https://www.yale.edu/

7%

Acceptance

14,910

Students

#8

Ranking

$58K

Tuition

B

Rating

#23 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

California State University-Northridge

Northridge, CA | https://www.csun.edu/

66%

Acceptance

42,736

Students

#763

Ranking

$19K

Tuition

A

Rating

#24 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

University of Central Florida

Orlando, FL | www.ucf.edu/

45%

Acceptance

81,082

Students

#200

Ranking

$22K

Tuition

A

Rating

#25 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Liberal Arts and Sciences

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA | https://www2.gmu.edu/

89%

Acceptance

49,755

Students

#296

Ranking

$37K

Tuition

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