What is a Liberal Arts College? Guide to Top Colleges in the US, India, and Europe. 

The most nerve-wracking process after high school is choosing what and where to study next. If you’re exploring your opportunities right now and have had a slight thought about liberals arts degrees or colleges, then this guide is for you. 

By the end of this article, we will understand: 

• Liberal arts colleges are unique because of their subject variety, teaching styles, educational focus and goals.
• Subjects were mainly divided into two elements - Trivium and Quadrivium - which have now evolved to fields such as Social Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences and more. 
• Multiple institutions publish global university rankings, and Studyportals has a single tool to compare this data 
• How to get an idea of the top liberal arts colleges around the world

A liberal arts college is an institution that provides education in disciplines such as the Social Sciences, Humanities, Arts, and Natural Sciences. These types of colleges are primarily popular in the US education system, but less so in other countries. Many colleges around the world aren’t labelled as ‘liberal arts colleges’ but still offer degrees that fall into the category of liberal arts. 

Liberal arts colleges offer four-year undergraduate programs where you will earn a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Science (BSc). In the first two years of your course, you will explore wider subjects, and in the next two years, you will focus on your choice of major.

(If you’re wondering what subjects fit into each discipline, we’ll get to that in the following sections.)   

A bit of history - What are the 7 classic liberal arts? 

The seven liberal arts are categorised into two groups, the Trivium and the Quadrivium. The Trivium consists of three elements: Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic. The Quadrivium consists of four elements: Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy.

The idea of liberal arts was introduced by Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle. Meanings and definitions have changed over the centuries, but are broadly known as what we just saw above. 

These classifications were mainly introduced to develop the mind and character rather than just to provide training for a job. The Latin word “liberalis” means “worthy of a free person”, and the liberal arts aimed to provide studies for free citizens. 

Let’s take a closer look at what each liberal art means. 

Trivium - The Latin word “trivium” means “the place where three roads meet” and encompasses the arts of language, thought and communication.

1. Grammar - focuses on learning the structure of language, speaking and writing clearly, to express yourself concisely. Reading literary texts was primarily how grammar was studied. 
2. Logic -  focuses on critical thinking to define truth and falsity in arguments. This was considered an important foundation, as it laid the groundwork for various discussions and debates.  
3. Rhetoric - focuses on persuasive communication with language. With the knowledge learnt from Grammar and Logic, the third Trivium puts those skills to use in the art of speaking.

Quadrivium - The Latin word “quadrivium” means “The place where four roads meet”, and is the second educational stage encompassing the arts of numbers.

1. Arithmetic - the study of numerical operations (such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), measurement, and proportion. 
2. Geometry - the study of numbers in relation to shapes, physical forms, and sizes.
3. Music - the study of instruments, their sound, form and mechanism. 
4. Astronomy - this field studies dates and navigation in relevance to mathematics.

Both Trivium and Quadrivium aimed to study philosophy to train minds with facts, creative freedom and analytical thinking. The seven liberal arts might sound strange today, but we are more familiar with the modernised branches of these, outlined in the table below. 

What to study in a liberal arts college? 

We’ve defined that the liberal arts have four major disciplines - Social Sciences, Humanities, Arts and Natural Sciences. The table below lists the different subjects within each discipline:   

Discipline	Subjects
Social Sciences	Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology, Political Science, Economics, Education
Humanities	Languages, History, Philosophy, Literature, Classics, Religion
Arts	Visual Arts, Performing Arts (Theatre, Dance, Music), Film Studies, Design, Architecture
Natural Sciences	Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth Science, Astronomy, Mathematics

Note: The above table only covers major subjects. These can be translated into different degrees with overlapping subject areas. A good example to see different kinds of liberal arts degrees is on Harvard’s degree section, which they call “concentrations.” 

Now, if you’re thinking, “that’s literally all the subjects”, not really. Disciplines such as Applied Sciences (Engineering, Medicine), Law, Business and Management (Accounting, Marketing), may not be offered by liberal arts colleges and do not fall into the category of liberal arts. 

What is the difference between a liberal arts college and a regular college? 

Students often wonder how a liberal arts college differs from a regular college, simply because both function as academic institutions that offer educational degrees. 

Well, first, let’s take a look at the three main significances of a liberal arts college: 

• Liberal arts colleges only provide (four-year) undergraduate courses, unlike other colleges that provide (three or four-year) Bachelor's and (usually two-year) Master's degrees

• The class sizes and student counts are smaller than other colleges. A lower student-to-teacher ratio allows more opportunities for interaction and participation. This also fosters a collaborative environment where students can discuss, debate and share ideas and projects.  

• Education is broad. Like we mentioned before, during your first two years, you get to explore subjects outside your major to have a general understanding of multiple subjects with a special focus on soft skills. Liberal arts colleges are known to promote creativity, critical thinking, communication and leadership skills in their curriculum.  

Here is a summary table showing how liberal arts colleges differ from other regular colleges:

Major differences	Liberal arts colleges	Regular Colleges
Focus	Broad, well-rounded, interdisciplinary education	Specialised, professional and research-oriented
Size	Small, lower student-to-teacher ratio, more interactive and participatory	Large, diverse student body, less personal attention
Teaching	Undergraduate studies	Undergraduate, Postgraduate, PhD, and research programs
Flexbility	Opportunity to explore several disciplines before choosing a specialisation	The major is chosen before the degree begins
Skills	Highlights soft skills, like problem-solving and leadership	Focus on specialised skills depending on the degree and its career path
Career	Can pursue a diverse career, but is often paired with a master's degree	Direct career paths, help with internships, placements, and a professional network
Recognition	Less understood internationally, but well-known in the US	Many public and private colleges are globally recognised
Tuition Fees	Often, high tuition fees	Varies from country to country. Usually, public colleges are free of cost, and private colleges are more expensive
Goal	Key focus on creativity, critical thinking and developing soft skills	Academic/Professional specialisation, preparation for career path

If you’re thinking, “Why choose a liberal arts college?”, the above table should help you navigate the pros and cons of a liberal arts college.  

Overall, it’s a good decision to opt for a liberal arts degree if you are unsure of your professional path and want to keep your career opportunities open. This way, you can pair your four-year liberal arts degree with a specialised master's degree when you’re ready.

What is the ranking & reputation of a liberal arts college? 

The rankings of a liberal arts college, regular colleges and universities are based on certain criteria with a special focus on academic qualifications and resources offered to every student. 

You might often search for the ‘best’ college or the ‘top’ university to study at. These are solely determined by ranking institutions that survey different colleges and universities and publish a yearly comparative ranking.   

Graduation rates, performance, student-faculty ratios, faculty and financial resources are some factors influencing the ranking and reputation of a college or university. You can explore a detailed guide on how to interpret these rankings here.  

Not many countries publish specialised rankings for liberal arts colleges due to their small sizes. 

Some of the reputed ranking institutions to look specifically at this data include Times Higher Education, QS World University Rankings, US News and World Report, and Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 

To make it simpler, you can use the Studyportals University Meta Ranking tool that combines data from all four reputed institutions and gives you a single ranking list for easy comparison. 

Which liberal arts college to choose?

Now that we’ve taken a brief look at how liberal arts colleges get ranked, you’re probably wondering, “Which liberal arts college to choose?”. Let’s jump in and take a closer look at the best liberal arts colleges in the US, India and Europe and where they rank. 

Note: The following list of liberal arts colleges has been curated with the Studyportals Meta Ranking tool. Read more about this tool here.  

Top liberal arts college in the US

1. Havard University is a prestigious university with over 360,000 alumni globally and has a top rank of 0.1% worldwide. 
2. Standford University is one of the world’s leading universities and has a 0.1% global top rank. 
3. Yale University is a distinguished university offering an intimate learning environment and has a global ranking of 0.1%.
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a top university leading in science and technology and holds a global ranking of 0.1%. 
5. University of California, Berkeley is a reputed research university at the forefront of groundbreaking inventions, with a 0.1% global top rank. 

Top liberal arts college in India

1. University of Delhi is one of the best universities in the capital city of India and has a global ranking of the top 6%.
2. Jawaharlal Nehru University is a reputed research university in India with a global ranking of the top 6%. 
3. Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, is ranked in the top 3% globally and is a leading university in the field of engineering. 
4. Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, is a public university leading in tech innovation and has a ranking of the top 3%
5. Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, is the sixth member of the IIT fraternity and ranks top 5% in the globally. 

Top liberal arts college in Europe

1. University of Amsterdam is the top-ranked university in the Netherlands and remains one of the top 50 universities worldwide. 
2. Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) is located in Munich, Germany and is ranked in the top 1% globally. 
3. Humboldt University Berlin is more than 200 years old and has a global ranking of the top 1%. 
4. KU Leuven is the highest-ranked university in Belgium and is one of the top 50 universities globally. 
5. Leiden University is a prestigious European research university based in the Netherlands and holds a global ranking of 0.5%. 

Top 4 myths about liberal arts colleges

Liberal arts colleges don’t prepare you for a career. 

This misconception is often paired with universities offering specialised degrees that promise a career path. However, this totally rejects the holistic study that liberal arts degrees provide and the diverse career opportunities these degrees open up. 

Mathematics and Science are not liberal arts subjects. 

As we’ve seen, even in ancient times, Arithmetic, Geometry and Logic focused on the importance of mathematics in daily life and understanding. Over time, subjects and degrees have evolved to overlap and are often not given enough credit for how they came to be today. 

Liberal arts students are politically inclined (liberal).

Not all students who pursue liberal arts degrees are “liberal”. In fact, the word “liberal” in liberal arts degree or colleges does not have a relation to politics at all and refers to ‘free citizen’. 

A liberal arts degree isn’t worth the money.

Degrees from liberal arts colleges might be expensive, but they have a positive contribution to one’s educational journey in terms of understanding how the universe works all around. 

FAQs

1. What is the hardest liberal arts college to get into?

Pomona College is one of the toughest liberal arts colleges to get into, with an acceptance rate of less than 8%. 

2. Which is the number one liberal arts college?

The number one liberal arts college in the US is Harvard University, with over 360,000 alumni globally and a top rank of 0.1%. 

3. What is the highest-paying liberal arts degree? 

Public relations is one of the highest-paying liberal arts degrees in the US. But typically, degrees that combine strong technical and analytical skills can also be high-paying ones. 

4. What is the most expensive liberal arts degree?

The most expensive liberal arts degree was reported to be from the University of Southern California, with an annual fee of $71,647. 

5. How many liberal arts colleges are there?

There are around 200 liberal arts colleges in the US alone, and over 500 liberal arts colleges globally.