The best community colleges provide an effective springboard into higher education, offering students high-quality two-year degree programs in a wide range of disciplines. The top-rated community colleges in New Mexico offer a broad selection of associate’s degrees, affordable tuition rates, and strong partnerships with public four-year schools so that students can easily transfer their credits into accredited bachelor’s degree programs.
New Mexico has 23 higher learning establishments to choose from, and a tuition range of $1,000-$8,000 in the public sphere makes this state one of the most affordable in the nation. The University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque, has a student population just over 20,000 and an affordable cost of $8,000. The school is known for its health sciences and business programs.
New Mexico also has four tribal colleges and universities, including the largest tribal college in the country, Navajo Technical University. Students can complete programs in animal science, early childhood multicultural education, and industrial engineering. In addition, New Mexico provides two loan forgiveness programs, one for health professionals and one for public service attorneys. Those working in designated shortage areas can qualify for up to $25,000 per year, and attorneys providing service for government, non-profit, or underserved residents may acquire $7,200 per year.
Pueblos, roadrunners, cacti, and the Rio Grande make New Mexico one of the most unique states in the nation. Though its alleged history of UFO sightings is perhaps its most famous draw, New Mexico has another fascinating monument worth mentioning - Capulin Volcano. The peak of this extinct cider cone volcano, which can be reached by car, offers visitors a view of four other states. Students looking to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in The Land of Enchantment are sure to find interesting activities to do alongside their studies.
Prepare to be enchanted by the higher education options and career prospects that New Mexico has to offer.
We’ve identified 14 community colleges in New Mexico. The following list shows the best community colleges and primarily associate degree granting colleges in New Mexico.
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
41%
Graduation
39%
Student body
<1K
Tuition + fees
$5K
Acceptance
100%
Graduation
24%
Student body
<1K
Institute of American Indian Arts’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$2K
Graduation
25%
Student body
12K
Central New Mexico Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$2K
Graduation
38%
Student body
1K
Clovis Community College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
25%
Student body
2K
Santa Fe Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$2K
Graduation
37%
Student body
<1K
New Mexico State University Grants’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$2K
Graduation
25%
Student body
4K
San Juan College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$2K
Graduation
30%
Student body
1K
New Mexico Junior College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$1K
Graduation
16%
Student body
<1K
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$2K
Graduation
15%
Student body
<1K
Tuition + fees
$2K
Graduation
45%
Student body
<1K
Mesalands Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$2K
Graduation
27%
Student body
<1K
University of New Mexico–Los Alamos’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$2K
Graduation
20%
Student body
<1K
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.