Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Florida 2023

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Florida 2023

By James Barham

Published: Mar 17, 2021
Updated: Mar 13, 2023

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 Florida offer a diverse selection of degree programs with opportunities for a highly individualized educational experience.

10 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Florida

Stetson University

40%

Rollins College

39%

New College of Florida

36%

University of Tampa

34%

Jacksonville University

32%

Florida Southern College

32%

University of West Florida

31%

Miami Dade College

31%

Tallahassee Community College

30%

29%

Stetson University

92%

Florida Gulf Coast University

89%

Lynn University

83%

Jacksonville University

78%

New College of Florida

74%

Saint Leo University

71%

St. Thomas University

71%

70%

Ave Maria University

64%

Florida Southern College

61%

Full Sail University

31 to 1

Seminole State College of Florida

27 to 1

Broward College

26 to 1

Florida SouthWestern State College

26 to 1

Indian River State College

25 to 1

Webber International University

25 to 1

Valencia College

24 to 1

St. Petersburg College

23 to 1

Florida State College at Jacksonville

23 to 1

Tallahassee Community College

23 to 1

Rollins College

$54,740

Stetson University

$50,800

$47,704

Jacksonville University

$42,400

Lynn University

$40,900

Florida Southern College

$38,980

St. Thomas University

$32,940

University of Tampa

$31,274

Webber International University

$29,534

Warner University

$26,744

Webber International University

$28,701

Rollins College

$26,190

Stetson University

$17,671

Florida Southern College

$17,232

Florida Memorial University

$16,708

Ave Maria University

$15,672

Full Sail University

$15,472

Saint Leo University

$15,218

Hodges University

$14,940

St. Thomas University

$14,400

Warner University

17%

Chipola College

17%

Webber International University

18%

Hodges University

18%

Indian River State College

21%

Florida Memorial University

21%

Seminole State College of Florida

22%

Daytona State College

22%

St. Thomas University

22%

Lynn University

23%

Webber International University

46%

Rollins College

49%

Warner University

53%

University of West Florida

53%

University of Tampa

54%

Florida Memorial University

57%

Florida Southern College

61%

Ave Maria University

64%

70%

St. Thomas University

71%

New College of Florida

6 to 1

St. Thomas University

11 to 1

Jacksonville University

11 to 1

Hodges University

12 to 1

12 to 1

Rollins College

12 to 1

Florida Memorial University

13 to 1

Stetson University

13 to 1

Ave Maria University

13 to 1

Florida Southern College

14 to 1

Santa Fe College

$1,872

St. Petersburg College

$1,943

Broward College

$1,968

Valencia College

$1,984

Miami Dade College

$1,987

Tallahassee Community College

$2,002

Florida State College at Jacksonville

$2,095

Chipola College

$2,365

Seminole State College of Florida

$2,393

Florida SouthWestern State College

$2,436

Warner University

$6,000

Florida Gulf Coast University

$6,974

University of West Florida

$7,088

New College of Florida

$9,555

University of Tampa

$11,934

Lynn University

$13,500

Jacksonville University

$13,889

St. Thomas University

$14,400

Hodges University

$14,940

Saint Leo University

$15,218

Colleges and Universities in Florida

The state of Florida offers a wealth of options for students seeking both traditional and online degree programs. With more than 40 public and 50 private schools, prospective students can earn their associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from an extremely wide variety of brick-and-mortar and online colleges in Florida.

Colleges in Florida are also uniquely affordable, with the state average tuition of $6,360 falling well under the national average. Among the most popular disciplines in Florida are anthropology, nursing, law, religious studies, and earth sciences. Many of these valuable degrees are available through online courses and fully online degree programs.

Indeed, nearly 40 colleges and universities in Florida offer online degrees. These online degree programs offer flexibility, convenience and accessibility. Make sure to choose an online degree program with accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

Among the largest colleges in Florida is Miami Dade College. This public college is home to over 165,000 students across eight campuses and 21 outreach centers as well as various excellent online degree programs. Miami Dade College also offers an extremely affordable in-state tuition of $3,000.

Students seeking a religious school can choose from 21 colleges and universities that are grounded in Judeo-Christian, Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist, and Christian principles. Ranked as the top two schools, the University of Florida (UF) and Florida State University (FSU) both have large student populations, with just over 45,000 at UF and just under 39,000 as FSU. Both are also affordable, with tuition at $6,000 and $7,000, respectively.

At $50,000, the University of Miami is the most expensive private college in the state and has graduated influential people such as Gene Roddenberry, Sylvester Stallone, and Dwayne The Rock Johnson. Florida also offers its nursing students up to $4,000 in financial aid through their Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program.

Coastal cities, sandy beaches, orange groves, and vibrant flowers - it’s no wonder Florida is called The Sunshine State. Home to the famous Everglades National Park and Disney World, Florida also boasts 90 higher education institutes.

With so many options for both traditional and online colleges in Florida, this state has a lot to offer higher education students. Check out Florida’s best degree programs and top career paths.

What are Florida’s Colleges & Universities?

Florida’s Best Overall

Related: Differences between research universities and teaching colleges

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How do we determine Florida's best liberal arts colleges and universities?

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.

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 57 liberal arts universities in Florida. To be ranked among the 25 best liberal arts colleges in Florida, schools must fully accredited institutions.

Best Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities in Florida 2022

Find the Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Florida for Your Area of Interest

Frequently Asked Questions About Research Universities, Liberal Arts Colleges, Online Colleges

In pursuing a bachelor’s degree, you will need to choose between three kinds of schools: research universities, liberal arts colleges, and online colleges.

Research universities are colleges and universities whose faculty are active in research and publishing. Research universities offer a wide array of doctoral programs, especially in the sciences. They tend to be big, with tens of thousands of students.

Do you prefer a larger university setting, such as largest public university in your state? Research universities are typically big, offering degrees in many different disciplines. Is a big high-powered research environment the thing for you. If not, you should think about a liberal arts college. In deciding on an undergraduate institution, ask yourself what sort of environment will best help you to be happy and excel.

Consider whether you are self motivated enough to be a face in the crowd for some classes and largely unknown on campus at a large university. Of course you can find clubs and friends at a large university, but often liberal arts colleges have a more personal quality to them. If you want the community feel, a research university may not fit you well.
Are you interested in STEM fields? Research universities have that name for a reason – real research is happening there. This can create an exciting atmosphere for students interested in STEM. Attending a research university can give you a better chance of getting into better programs for graduate degrees, although a lot of that depends on your performance.

Learn more about research universities by reading about the best research universities in the US.

Often referred to as “teaching colleges” liberal arts colleges put 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.

Do you want your professors to know you? Liberal arts colleges strive to cultivate campus cultures that encourage tight bonds between professors and students. Professors at these schools will typically conduct original research. Yet the best of these schools offer their faculty reduced teaching loads so that they can both be productive researchers and still have plenty of time for students (both in and outside the classroom).
Do you want to feel like you know everybody? One of the most enticing features of a liberal arts college is that in very little time, you can feel like you know who’s who, which can create strong friendships, but also more pleasurable walks across campus. While your sports teams may never be on ESPN, it’s more likely that you’ll know the athletes as your peers. Beyond student and faculty relationships, it’s not unusual for the school president and other administrators to learn who you are. When faced with problems with your student account or the need to switch classes, this can be comforting during a stressful moment.

Learn more about liberal arts colleges by reading about the best liberal arts colleges in the US.

Online colleges are typically the same colleges and universities you could attend in-person, but for certain degree programs the college or unviersity has made the degree programs available to be completed online. For over 5 million students, online degree programs allow students to earn their degrees in the most flexible format available. Online degrees are as respected as the on-campus degress you could earn from the same schools. There’s usually no disctinction between the two degrees, and your degree and transcript will not say that the degree was earned online. Online degree programs are offered by a vast majority of colleges and universities, and the number of offering continues to grow. Whehter you are searching for an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate, there’s a good chance you can earn your degree online from a respectable online college.

Are you a self-driven student? Perhaps the hardest aspect of obtaining an online degree is whether you will be disciplined enough to manage your time and course demands. Many online students report that online college made them more disciplined in all areas of their lives, but the flexible, self-paced learning that makes online colleges attractive can often be the same qualities that make it difficult. If you tend to be a procrastinator, you need to be honest with yourself. You can change your habits and propensities, or you can throw money down the drain.
Do you need the flexibility of an online degree program? Most online students study online because of time demands balancing work and life, or becuase the online colleges afford them the chance to attend a better school without moving. If you are serious about earning your degree for career advancement, online colleges make it possible. The most flexible options among online degrees are those that are aynchronous, meaning you don’t have scheduled times to meet with your class online. However, many students seek synchronous online degree programs so that they have some structure – set meeting times, scheduled exams, etc.
The good news is that attending an online college doesn’t mean you will miss out on getting to know your professors and classmates. In fact, many online students who have experienced both online and on-campus courses report having easier access to their professors. Since most communication with your professor is expected to be in text – via email or your class learning management system – it makes asking your questions easier. The same students also report that they got to better know the thoughts of their classmates. While in-person course conversations can be dominated by a few extroverts, online courses that require online discussions make it so that you see all of your classmates’ thoughts and questions.

If you’re interested in an online bachelor’s degree, check out what the best online colleges offer, or search our online degrees for the exact program that interests you. In either case, you will find well respected colleges and universities that offer online degrees.

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.

Check out our directory of liberal arts colleges throughout the U.S. for a look at the top liberal arts schools in every state.