Best Small Colleges in Oklahoma 2023

Best Small Colleges in Oklahoma 2023

By James Barham

Published: May 3, 2021
Updated: Mar 13, 2023

Small colleges in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 2022

University of Tulsa

44%

Oklahoma City University

37%

Oral Roberts University

34%

Langston University

30%

Oklahoma Christian University

28%

Southwestern Oklahoma State University

26%

Oklahoma Baptist University

25%

25%

Southeastern Oklahoma State University

25%

University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma

24%

Oklahoma Christian University

97%

Southwestern Oklahoma State University

94%

Oral Roberts University

85%

Oklahoma City University

79%

University of Tulsa

75%

Southeastern Oklahoma State University

74%

East Central University

65%

University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma

63%

Northwestern Oklahoma State University

59%

Oklahoma Baptist University

56%

Southeastern Oklahoma State University

24 to 1

Randall University

22 to 1

Oklahoma State University–Oklahoma City

20 to 1

Southwestern Oklahoma State University

20 to 1

Rogers State University

19 to 1

East Central University

18 to 1

Cameron University

18 to 1

Oklahoma Panhandle State University

18 to 1

Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology

17 to 1

University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma

16 to 1

University of Tulsa

$45,673

Oklahoma City University

$32,744

Oklahoma Baptist University

$32,050

Oral Roberts University

$31,558

Oklahoma Wesleyan University

$29,498

Southern Nazarene University

$27,000

Oklahoma Christian University

$25,090

Southwestern Christian University

$19,908

Mid-America Christian University

$18,838

Randall University

$16,190

University of Tulsa

$24,282

Mid-America Christian University

$14,832

Southern Nazarene University

$12,590

Oral Roberts University

$11,670

Oklahoma Christian University

$11,250

Oklahoma City University

$10,620

Oklahoma Baptist University

$9,900

Oklahoma Wesleyan University

$9,540

Randall University

$8,550

Southwestern Christian University

$7,758

Mid-America Christian University

11%

Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology

12%

Randall University

13%

Southwestern Christian University

14%

Oklahoma State University–Oklahoma City

16%

Oklahoma Panhandle State University

17%

Oklahoma Wesleyan University

17%

Rogers State University

20%

Southern Nazarene University

21%

Northwestern Oklahoma State University

21%

Oklahoma Wesleyan University

54%

Randall University

55%

55%

Oklahoma Baptist University

56%

Northwestern Oklahoma State University

59%

University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma

63%

East Central University

65%

Southeastern Oklahoma State University

74%

University of Tulsa

75%

Oklahoma City University

79%

Oklahoma Wesleyan University

9 to 1

Oklahoma City University

10 to 1

University of Tulsa

10 to 1

Southwestern Christian University

12 to 1

12 to 1

Mid-America Christian University

13 to 1

Southern Nazarene University

14 to 1

Oklahoma Baptist University

14 to 1

Langston University

14 to 1

Oklahoma Christian University

15 to 1

Oklahoma State University–Oklahoma City

$3,630

Oklahoma Panhandle State University

$3,696

Langston University

$4,342

Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology

$4,574

Rogers State University

$4,710

Cameron University

$4,740

East Central University

$5,791

Southwestern Oklahoma State University

$6,368

University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma

$6,390

Southeastern Oklahoma State University

$6,420

Langston University

$3,355

Cameron University

$3,564

East Central University

$4,402

Southeastern Oklahoma State University

$4,734

Northwestern Oklahoma State University

$4,928

Rogers State University

$4,980

Southwestern Oklahoma State University

$6,294

Southwestern Christian University

$7,758

Randall University

$8,550

Oklahoma Wesleyan University

$9,540

Colleges and Universities in Oklahoma

Less than half of the schools in Oklahoma are private schools. However, students who attend one these schools can expect a more intimate college experience, as each has a student population smaller than 4,000 students. The largest private school, the University of Tulsa, offers degrees in fields like education, criminal justice, and literature, with tuition fees around $41,000. The public schools tend to be more cost-friendly, with tuition ranging from $4,000 to $9,000 per year.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

The University of Oklahoma, the state’s largest public school, costs about $9,000 and serves over 24,000 students. Here, students can partake in competitive on-campus programs in fields like communications and social work, or pursue one of the 30 graduate degrees and certificates online. Oklahoma is also home to several religiously affiliated schools, like Oral Roberts University and Bacone College. Students hoping to pursue a career as a physician, physician’s assistant, or dentist may also want to consider earning their degree here as the state offers several loan forgiveness programs to those who qualify.

The state of Oklahoma is serious about its food - so serious they even declared an official state meal, which consists of fried okra, cornbread, barbecue pork, squash, biscuits, sausage and gravy, grits, corn, strawberries, chicken fried steak, black-eyed peas, and pecan pie. Those hoping to feed both their bellies and their minds can attend one of Oklahoma’s more than 40 colleges and universities.

To learn more about earning your degree in Oklahoma, check out some of the state’s top programs.

What are Oklahoma’s Colleges & Universities?

Oklahoma’s Best Overall

Oklahoma's Best Small Colleges and Universities Badge — Download Badge

The following list of the best small colleges and universities in Oklahoma is composed mainly of four-year undergraduate schools (though a handful also offer graduate programs). We’ve identified 22 small colleges in Oklahoma. The list below of the best small colleges in Oklahoma. To be included schools must fully accredited, and must have student body populations below 5,000 students.

How do we determine Oklahoma's best small 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.

Best Small Colleges in Oklahoma 2022

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Oklahoma’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.