Best Small Colleges in Connecticut 2023

Published: Mar 25, 2021
Updated: May 22, 2023

Small colleges in Connecticut are a great option for students interested in a more intimate campus experience, more personal attention from excellent professors, and more immediate access to support services. Whether the focus is on the technical or on the liberal arts, small colleges give you the chance to pursue a well-rounded education while working closely with classmates and professors in a dynamic community atmosphere.

10 Best Small Colleges in Connecticut 2022

Wesleyan University

62%

Trinity College

43%

Connecticut College

41%

University of Bridgeport

37%

United States Coast Guard Academy

35%

Western Connecticut State University

24%

Eastern Connecticut State University

23%

Albertus Magnus College

22%

Charter Oak State College

20%

University of Saint Joseph

19%

Western Connecticut State University

85%

Albertus Magnus College

82%

Mitchell College

78%

University of Saint Joseph

78%

University of Bridgeport

73%

Eastern Connecticut State University

73%

Connecticut College

41%

Trinity College

38%

Wesleyan University

19%

United States Coast Guard Academy

19%

University of Bridgeport

16 to 1

Albertus Magnus College

14 to 1

Mitchell College

14 to 1

Eastern Connecticut State University

14 to 1

Charter Oak State College

13 to 1

Western Connecticut State University

12 to 1

Trinity College

9 to 1

Connecticut College

9 to 1

Wesleyan University

8 to 1

United States Coast Guard Academy

7 to 1

Wesleyan University

$62,049

Trinity College

$61,370

Connecticut College

$60,795

University of Saint Joseph

$43,084

Albertus Magnus College

$36,442

Mitchell College

$35,775

University of Bridgeport

$35,760

Charter Oak State College

$7,656

Western Connecticut State University

$6,162

Eastern Connecticut State University

$6,162

Wesleyan University

$61,449

Albertus Magnus College

$21,744

University of Bridgeport

$19,096

Trinity College

$18,780

University of Saint Joseph

$14,328

Charter Oak State College

$9,288

Western Connecticut State University

$7,674

Eastern Connecticut State University

$7,674

Mitchell College

18%

University of Saint Joseph

19%

Charter Oak State College

20%

Albertus Magnus College

22%

Eastern Connecticut State University

23%

Western Connecticut State University

24%

United States Coast Guard Academy

35%

University of Bridgeport

37%

Connecticut College

41%

Trinity College

43%

United States Coast Guard Academy

19%

Wesleyan University

19%

Trinity College

38%

Connecticut College

41%

Eastern Connecticut State University

73%

University of Bridgeport

73%

University of Saint Joseph

78%

Mitchell College

78%

Albertus Magnus College

82%

Western Connecticut State University

85%

United States Coast Guard Academy

7 to 1

University of Saint Joseph

7 to 1

Wesleyan University

8 to 1

Trinity College

9 to 1

Connecticut College

9 to 1

Western Connecticut State University

12 to 1

Charter Oak State College

13 to 1

Albertus Magnus College

14 to 1

Mitchell College

14 to 1

Eastern Connecticut State University

14 to 1

Western Connecticut State University

$6,162

Eastern Connecticut State University

$6,162

Charter Oak State College

$7,656

University of Bridgeport

$35,760

Mitchell College

$35,775

Albertus Magnus College

$36,442

University of Saint Joseph

$43,084

Connecticut College

$60,795

Trinity College

$61,370

Wesleyan University

$62,049

Western Connecticut State University

$7,674

Eastern Connecticut State University

$7,674

Charter Oak State College

$9,288

University of Saint Joseph

$14,328

Trinity College

$18,780

University of Bridgeport

$19,096

Albertus Magnus College

$21,744

Wesleyan University

$61,449

Table of Contents

Colleges and Universities in Connecticut

Connecticut is home to a variety of top brick-and-mortar schools as well as a wide variety of fully accredited online colleges. Higher education in Connecticut includes both public and private institutions that offer associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, both in person and through online degree programs.

With 19 public schools and 20 private schools, Connecticut gives both traditional and online students plenty of options to choose from.

Students seeking an affordable option can attend one of the state’s numerous community colleges, which average $4,000 a year for tuition. The in-state cost for tuition in Connecticut’s four year public schools ranges from $8,000 to $16,000. Many of the community and public colleges in Connecticut also offer online degree programs.

Students interested in psychology, economics, and communications can check out the University of Connecticut (UConn), which is home to the premier research institute for ecological psychology. Sacred Heart University, a Roman Catholic university, is known for its religious studies and business programs.

Those looking for a smaller student population and more online courses may want to check out Manchester Community College, which enrolls about 4000 students and offers affordable in-person and online degrees in literature, biology, and social work.

And of course, Connecticut is also home to Yale University, the fourth oldest learning institute in the United States. The venerable Ivy League school enrolls just over 15,000 students at its New Haven campus.

Both traditional and online students in Connecticut can choose from a variety of higher education experiences fitting a full spectrum of budgets and career goals. Learn more and begin earning your degree from one of the top brick-and-mortar or online colleges in Connecticut.

What are Connecticut’s Colleges & Universities?

Connecticut’s Best Overall

The following list of the best small colleges and universities in Connecticut is composed mainly of four-year undergraduate schools (though a handful also offer graduate programs). We’ve identified 11 small colleges in Connecticut. The list below of the best small colleges in Connecticut. To be included schools must fully accredited, and must have student body populations below 5,000 students.

How do we determine Connecticut's best small colleges and universities?

Methodology

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence in their fields of study.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.

Best Small Colleges in Connecticut 2022

Build your own college rankings

Connecticut’s Best Small College in Your Area of Interest

2021 Ranking Archive

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.

Best Small Colleges in Connecticut 2023

10 Best Small Colleges in Connecticut 2022

Colleges and Universities in Connecticut

What are Connecticut’s Colleges & Universities?

Connecticut’s Best Overall

Best Small Colleges in Connecticut 2022

Wesleyan University

Most Influential Alumni

Trinity College

Most Influential Alumni

University of Bridgeport

Most Influential Alumni

University of Bridgeport’s Online Degrees

Connecticut College

Most Influential Alumni

United States Coast Guard Academy

Most Influential Alumni

Western Connecticut State University

Most Influential Alumni

Charter Oak State College

Most Influential Alumni

Charter Oak State College’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Degree Concentrations

Degree Concentrations

Mitchell College

Most Influential Alumni

Eastern Connecticut State University

Most Influential Alumni

Albertus Magnus College

Most Influential Alumni

Albertus Magnus College’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

University of Saint Joseph

Most Influential Alumni

Connecticut’s Best Small College in Your Area of Interest