Best Small Colleges in Rhode Island 2025
Small colleges in Rhode Island 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.
Key Takeaways
- Many small colleges in Rhode Island have a long-standing commitment to civic engagement and social justice, offering programs that encourage community service, nonprofit internships, and policy work, helping students directly impact the local community.
- Come of the colleges in Rhode Island foster an intense focus on the arts, offering small class sizes, close mentorship from faculty, and access to top-tier art studios and galleries, creating a strong, collaborative community for students passionate about visual and applied arts.
- With Rhode Island’s coastal location, many colleges offer specialized marine biology and environmental science programs that provide students with hands-on fieldwork opportunities, research access to coastal ecosystems, and partnerships with local marine research institutions.
Best Small Colleges in Rhode Island in 2025
2025 Ranking Update
Our Influence Ranking Engine™ leverages machine learning to track the real-world influence of colleges and universities over time. Below you’ll see which schools gained or lost ground for the 2025 school year.
In 2025, the top ten schools in our ranking of the best small colleges in Rhode Island saw no change in ranking positions. This was a result of all the schools in the ranking making similar improvements to their curriculum, internship opportunities, and other program features.
The following list of the best small colleges and universities in Rhode Island is composed mainly of four-year undergraduate schools (though a handful also offer graduate programs). We’ve identified 5 small colleges in Rhode Island. The list below of the best small colleges in Rhode Island. To be included schools must fully accredited, and must have student body populations below 5,000 students.
Best Small Colleges in Rhode Island
- #7 The Best Catholic Colleges and Universities Ranked for 2024 #12 50 Best Christian Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities 2025 #1 Best Christian Colleges in Rhode Island 2024 #1 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Rhode Island 2025
Tuition + fees
$58K
Acceptance
53%
Graduation
86%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1340/30
Career Outlook for degree at Providence College
Cost of Degree: $60,848Expenses: $19,792Starting Salary: $73,400Cost Recoup Time: 17 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Providence College known for?
Providence College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Mathematics
- Philosophy
- Social Work
- Religious Studies
- History
- Biology
- Business
- Literature
- Political Science
- Economics
Most Influential Alumni
Providence College’s Online Degrees
BS in Fire Administration
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in History
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Leadership Development
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Liberal Studies
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Professional Studies
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Social Science
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Theology
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #3 Best Private Colleges in Rhode Island 2025 #3 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Rhode Island 2025 #5 Best Colleges in Rhode Island 2025 #5 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
Tuition + fees
$49K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
83%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1241/29
Career Outlook for degree at Bryant University
Cost of Degree: $51,169Expenses: $19,888Starting Salary: $77,600Cost Recoup Time: 15 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Bryant University known for?
Bryant University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
- #4 Best Private Colleges in Rhode Island 2025 #4 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Rhode Island 2025 #6 Best Colleges in Rhode Island 2025 #18 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Criminal Justice Degrees
Tuition + fees
$41K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
66%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1195/28
Career Outlook for degree at Roger Williams University
Cost of Degree: $42,666Expenses: $20,940Starting Salary: $56,000Cost Recoup Time: 17 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Roger Williams University known for?
Roger Williams University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Criminal Justice
- Engineering
- Biology
- Business
- Law
- Literature
- History
- Political Science
- Communications
- Economics
Most Influential Alumni
Roger Williams University’s Online Degrees
BS in Criminal Justice
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Cybersecurity And Networking
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Applied Psychology
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #2 Best Christian Colleges in Rhode Island 2024 #4 Best Grad Schools in Rhode Island 2024 #5 Best Private Colleges in Rhode Island 2025 #5 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Rhode Island 2025
Tuition + fees
$46K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
76%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1205/27
Career Outlook for degree at Salve Regina University
Cost of Degree: $47,930Expenses: $22,986Starting Salary: $57,700Cost Recoup Time: 18 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Salve Regina University known for?
Salve Regina University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Social Work
- History
- Communications
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Nursing
- Business
- Education
- Literature
- Medical
Most Influential Alumni
Salve Regina University’s Online Degrees
BSN in Nursing: RN To BSN
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #6 Best Private Colleges in Rhode Island 2025 #6 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Rhode Island 2025 #8 Best Colleges in Rhode Island 2025 #4 Most Affordable Online Occupational Therapy Masters Programs 2025
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
50%
Student body
3K
Career Outlook for degree at New England Institute of Technology
Cost of Degree: $35,625Expenses: $21,306Starting Salary: $45,800Cost Recoup Time: 18 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is New England Institute of Technology known for?
New England Institute of Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Rhode Island’s Best Small College in Your Area of Interest
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.
Many states have great small colleges. If you’re interested in looking into what other states have to offer, check out the best small colleges in Delaware and Pennsylvania.
