Liberal arts colleges are a great option for students seeking a well-rounded education in an intimate campus setting. The best liberal arts colleges in Arkansas offer a diverse selection of degree programs with opportunities for a highly individualized educational experience.
Colleges and universities in Arkansas are uniquely affordable, with just under half providing tuition rates of $9,000 or less. We’ve also found 7 high quality colleges offering online degree programs in Arkansas.
Indeed, online students can earn their degree at one of the state’s two largest universities, the University of Arkansas or Arkansas State University.
Though students can find some overlapping degree programs at the two schools, each has its specialties. For example, students hoping to pursue degrees in architecture, agriculture, or business may want to consider the University of Arkansas, while those interested in biology, nursing, or political science may want to attend Arkansas State University. It is possible to study these subjects both through traditional and online degree programs in the state of Arkansas.
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Roughly one third of the schools in Arkansas have a religious affiliation. Student populations at these schools range from just under 200 students up to 5,000. Both traditional and online students can pursue degrees that merge religious studies with fields like chemistry and history.
Tuition rates at each of the state’s 12 private schools vary greatly. Arkansas’s private colleges and schools cost anywhere between $9,000 and $46,000. Many of these private colleges boast high graduation rates and small class sizes.
Arkansas is perhaps best-known and loved for its countless lakes, Hot Springs National Park, and the United States’ only active diamond mine. However, the Natural State houses many higher education institutes where both traditional and online students can earn associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in a full range of disciplines.
With so many affordable schools and competitive on-campus and online degree programs, students attending school in Arkansas have the luxury of combining their individual budget needs with their desired degree paths. For more information on attending school in Arkansas, check out some of the state’s top schools.
Related: Differences between research universities and teaching colleges
A liberal arts college is a school that puts a premium on undergraduate studies and offers a broad range of subjects for students to study. A college of liberal arts typically provides smaller class sizes, more direct engagement with professors, and, most importantly, the opportunity to sample a wide range of subject areas on the way to a bachelor’s degree. We’ve identified 17 liberal arts colleges in Arkansas. To be ranked among the best liberal arts colleges in Arkansas, schools must fully accredited institutions.
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
68%
Graduation
73%
Student body
1K
Hendrix College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
46%
Student body
8K
Arkansas Tech University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$29K
Acceptance
53%
Graduation
70%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1200/25
John Brown University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
37%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1007/21
Henderson State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
68%
Graduation
41%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
900/16
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$30K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
67%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1130/25
Ouachita Baptist University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
63%
Graduation
40%
Student body
4K
Southern Arkansas University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
33%
Student body
2K
University of Arkansas at Monticello’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Graduation
28%
Student body
<1K
Philander Smith University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$30K
Acceptance
27%
Graduation
46%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1090/25
Lyon College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Graduation
23%
Student body
<1K
Crowley's Ridge College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$25K
Acceptance
55%
Graduation
49%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1090/20
University of the Ozarks’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Graduation
9%
Student body
<1K
Arkansas Baptist College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
26%
Student body
5K
University of Arkansas–Fort Smith’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$17K
Acceptance
62%
Graduation
39%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
990/20
Central Baptist College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
32%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/21
Williams Baptist University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
28%
Student body
5K
University of Arkansas Grantham’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.
Check out our directory of liberal arts colleges throughout the U.S. for a look at the top liberal arts schools in every state.