Best Small Colleges in Connecticut 2024

Badge for BEST IN CONNECTICUT SMALL COLLEGES

Published: Mar 25, 2021
Updated: Oct 26, 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 2024

Wesleyan University
Trinity College
University of Bridgeport
Connecticut College
United States Coast Guard Academy
Western Connecticut State University
Charter Oak State College
Mitchell College
Eastern Connecticut State University
Albertus Magnus College

Wesleyan University
Trinity College
Connecticut College
University of Bridgeport
United States Coast Guard Academy
Western Connecticut State University
Eastern Connecticut State University
Albertus Magnus College
Mitchell College
University of Saint Joseph

Western Connecticut State University 84%
University of Bridgeport 82%
Albertus Magnus College 80%
Mitchell College 77%
University of Saint Joseph 75%
Eastern Connecticut State University 74%
Connecticut College 40%
Trinity College 36%
United States Coast Guard Academy 24%
Wesleyan University 14%

Albertus Magnus College 15 to 1
Eastern Connecticut State University 14 to 1
University of Bridgeport 14 to 1
Charter Oak State College 13 to 1
Mitchell College 12 to 1
Western Connecticut State University 11 to 1
Connecticut College 10 to 1
Trinity College 8 to 1
University of Saint Joseph 8 to 1
United States Coast Guard Academy 7 to 1

Wesleyan University $64,322
Trinity College $63,930
Connecticut College $63,005
University of Saint Joseph $44,366
Albertus Magnus College $37,682
Mitchell College $37,250
University of Bridgeport $35,760
Charter Oak State College $7,656
Eastern Connecticut State University $6,470
Western Connecticut State University $6,464

Wesleyan University $63,722
Albertus Magnus College $22,176
University of Bridgeport $19,096
Trinity College $18,780
University of Saint Joseph $14,850
Charter Oak State College $9,288
Western Connecticut State University $8,058
Eastern Connecticut State University $8,058

University of Saint Joseph
Albertus Magnus College
Eastern Connecticut State University
Mitchell College
Charter Oak State College
Western Connecticut State University
United States Coast Guard Academy
Connecticut College
University of Bridgeport
Trinity College

Charter Oak State College
University of Saint Joseph
Mitchell College
Albertus Magnus College
Eastern Connecticut State University
Western Connecticut State University
United States Coast Guard Academy
University of Bridgeport
Connecticut College
Trinity College

Wesleyan University 14%
United States Coast Guard Academy 24%
Trinity College 36%
Connecticut College 40%
Eastern Connecticut State University 74%
University of Saint Joseph 75%
Mitchell College 77%
Albertus Magnus College 80%
University of Bridgeport 82%
Western Connecticut State University 84%

United States Coast Guard Academy 7 to 1
Wesleyan University 7 to 1
Trinity College 8 to 1
University of Saint Joseph 8 to 1
Connecticut College 10 to 1
Western Connecticut State University 11 to 1
Mitchell College 12 to 1
Charter Oak State College 13 to 1
Eastern Connecticut State University 14 to 1
University of Bridgeport 14 to 1

Western Connecticut State University $6,464
Eastern Connecticut State University $6,470
Charter Oak State College $7,656
University of Bridgeport $35,760
Mitchell College $37,250
Albertus Magnus College $37,682
University of Saint Joseph $44,366
Connecticut College $63,005
Trinity College $63,930
Wesleyan University $64,322

Western Connecticut State University $8,058
Eastern Connecticut State University $8,058
Charter Oak State College $9,288
University of Saint Joseph $14,850
Trinity College $18,780
University of Bridgeport $19,096
Albertus Magnus College $22,176
Wesleyan University $63,722

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 2023

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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.

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Best Small Colleges in Connecticut 2024

10 Best Small Colleges in Connecticut 2024

Colleges and Universities in Connecticut

What are Connecticut’s Colleges & Universities?

Best Small Colleges in Connecticut 2023

Career Outlook for degree at Wesleyan University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Trinity College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at University of Bridgeport

Most Influential Alumni

University of Bridgeport’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at Connecticut College

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Western Connecticut State University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Charter Oak State College

Most Influential Alumni

Charter Oak State College’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Degree Concentrations

Degree Concentrations

Career Outlook for degree at Mitchell College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Eastern Connecticut State University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Albertus Magnus College

Most Influential Alumni

Albertus Magnus College’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Career Outlook for degree at University of Saint Joseph

Connecticut’s Best Small College in Your Area of Interest