Is a research university right for me?–

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.

Is an online college right for me?–

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 degrees you could earn from the same schools. There’s usually no distinction 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. Whether 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 of balancing work and life, or because the online college affords 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 asynchronous, 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.

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Ohio 2024

Q: Is a liberal arts college right for me?–

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 and make walks across campus more fun. 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.

Badge for BEST IN OHIO LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES

By Dr. James Barham

Published: May 3, 2021
Updated: Oct 26, 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 Ohio offer a diverse selection of degree programs with opportunities for a highly individualized educational experience.

Oberlin College
Kenyon College
Denison University
Wilberforce University
Ohio Wesleyan University
College of Wooster
Wittenberg University
Xavier University
Ashland University
John Carroll University

Bluffton University 96%
Wittenberg University 94%
Hiram College 93%
Central State University 89%
Muskingum University 86%
Xavier University 85%
Mount Vernon Nazarene University 85%
Ursuline College 85%
Otterbein University 84%
Tiffin University 83%

Ohio State University at Newark 27 to 1
University of Northwestern Ohio 24 to 1
Central State University 21 to 1
Kent State University at Ashtabula 21 to 1
University of Cincinnati Clermont College 20 to 1
Wilberforce University 19 to 1
Kent State University at Stark 19 to 1
Kent State University at Salem 19 to 1
Youngstown State University 18 to 1
Ohio University Southern Campus 18 to 1

Kenyon College $66,490
Oberlin College $62,024
Denison University $60,000
College of Wooster $57,500
Ohio Wesleyan University $49,822
John Carroll University $47,290
Xavier University $45,000
Wittenberg University $43,106
Capital University $40,350
Marietta College $38,022

University of Mount Union $39,000
Ohio Northern University $31,900
Oberlin College $29,692
Ursuline College $22,320
Lourdes University $15,779
Marietta College $15,663
Heidelberg University $14,902
John Carroll University $14,699
Antioch University Midwest $14,136
Otterbein University $14,048

Ohio State University at Marion
Lourdes University
University of Northwestern Ohio
Ohio State University at Mansfield
Ohio University – Chillicothe
Ohio State University at Newark
Defiance College
Mount St. Joseph University
Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Kent State University at Salem

Ohio Christian University
Ohio State University at Marion
Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Defiance College
Ohio University – Chillicothe
University of Northwestern Ohio
Lourdes University
Kent State University at Salem
Kent State University at Ashtabula
Mount St. Joseph University

Denison University 22%
Kenyon College 34%
Oberlin College 35%
Wilberforce University 45%
Ohio Dominican University 52%
Ohio Wesleyan University 52%
Lake Erie College 54%
Mount St. Joseph University 54%
Ohio Northern University 54%
College of Wooster 56%

Antioch University Midwest 5 to 1
Ursuline College 7 to 1
Ohio Christian University 8 to 1
Oberlin College 9 to 1
Denison University 9 to 1
Kenyon College 9 to 1
Marietta College 9 to 1
Capital University 9 to 1
Baldwin Wallace University 9 to 1
Wittenberg University 10 to 1

Central State University $5,176
University of Cincinnati Clermont College $5,628
Ohio University Southern Campus $6,004
Ohio University – Chillicothe $6,004
Miami University Middletown $6,045
Miami University Hamilton $6,083
Kent State University at Stark $6,902
Kent State University at Ashtabula $6,902
Kent State University at Salem $6,902
Ohio State University at Newark $8,677

Youngstown State University $6,494
Hiram College $6,612
Ashland University $7,656
Wittenberg University $8,027
Central State University $8,100
Defiance College $8,226
Shawnee State University $10,156
Cedarville University $10,260
Muskingum University $10,440
Mount Vernon Nazarene University $10,674

Table of Contents

Colleges and Universities in Ohio

Ohio offers over 120 colleges and universities for students to earn their associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree. The largest school in the state, Ohio State University, a public institution, serves almost 55,000 students. This university has five regional campuses, which have graduated alumni like writer Harlan Ellison and Wikipedia cofounder Larry Sanger. The majority of Ohio’s schools, however, are private.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

Tuition at these schools varies greatly, with costs as low as $7,000 at God’s Bible School and College, and as high as $56,000 at Kenyon University. The state is also home to nearly 40 higher education institutes with religious affiliations, offering plenty of options for students aiming to blend their faith with higher education. Although tuition costs in Ohio are higher than the national average, Ohio provides several loan forgiveness programs to those pursuing careers as public defenders and prosecutors, dentists, nurses, primary care physicians, and mental health providers. Many of these programs require individuals to work in shortage areas around the state for a certain time period in order to qualify.

If you’re someone with a wide variety of interests, Ohio might just be the place for you. In The Buckeye State, individuals can visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, take a trip through Amish Country, attend a professional sporting event, and hike waterfalls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It seems this state has something for everyone, including those pursuing a higher education degree.

Learn more about the numerous excellent degree paths and career prospects available in Ohio.

What are Ohio’s Colleges & Universities?

Ohio’s Best Overall

How do we determine Ohio's best liberal arts colleges?

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.

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 52 liberal arts colleges in Ohio. To be ranked among the 30 best liberal arts colleges in Ohio, schools must fully accredited institutions.

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Ohio 2023

Ohio’s Best Liberal Arts Colleges in 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 and make walks across campus more fun. 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 degrees you could earn from the same schools. There’s usually no distinction 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. Whether 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 of balancing work and life, or because the online college affords 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 asynchronous, 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 2024 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2023. That’s because we took a fundamentally different approach. For 2024 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.

Do you have a question about this topic? Ask it here

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Ohio 2024

10 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Ohio

Colleges and Universities in Ohio

What are Ohio’s Colleges & Universities?

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Ohio 2023

Career Outlook for degree at Oberlin College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Denison University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Kenyon College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Ashland University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at John Carroll University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Ohio Wesleyan University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Xavier University

Most Influential Alumni

Xavier University’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Career Outlook for degree at Youngstown State University

Most Influential Alumni

Youngstown State University’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Degree Concentrations

Career Outlook for degree at Wittenberg University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at College of Wooster

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Ohio Northern University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Franciscan University of Steubenville

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at University of Mount Union

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Cedarville University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Marietta College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Tiffin University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Central State University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Capital University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Wilberforce University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Hiram College

Most Influential Alumni

Hiram College’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at Malone University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Walsh University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Notre Dame College

Most Influential Alumni

Notre Dame College’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Career Outlook for degree at Muskingum University

Most Influential Alumni

Muskingum University’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Degree Concentrations

Career Outlook for degree at Shawnee State University

Career Outlook for degree at Baldwin Wallace University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Lake Erie College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Otterbein University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Antioch University Midwest

Career Outlook for degree at Ursuline College

Ursuline College’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at University of Cincinnati Clermont College

University of Cincinnati Clermont College’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at Miami University Middletown

Career Outlook for degree at Bluffton University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Ohio Dominican University