Eastern Connecticut State University Ranked Among Top Public Liberal Arts Colleges

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. — Eastern Connecticut State University has been ranked the 15th-best public liberal arts college in the nation in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.

The 2027 rankings, released Sept. 22, place Eastern among the top public liberal arts colleges in the country. Eastern and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts are the only two New England schools included in the category.

The university's placement in the public liberal arts college category follows a 2025 update to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. National liberal arts colleges emphasize four-year bachelor's degree programs and award at least half of their degrees in the arts and sciences.

"We are very pleased to be ranked among our nation's top public liberal arts colleges," Eastern President Karim Ismaili said. "Eastern's hallmark liberal arts education prepares students in more than 40 majors to become thoughtful, engaged citizens and successful professionals in their chosen career fields."

Eastern's curriculum emphasizes problem-solving, analytical thinking, professional communication, ethics, creativity and mathematical literacy. The university also incorporates experiential learning through internships and study-abroad programs.

The university offers more than 800 paid and for-credit internships each year, ranging from placements at the Connecticut General Assembly to nursing internships at Hartford HealthCare hospitals. Students can choose from 130 study-abroad opportunities.

Eastern said about 1,600 students volunteer in the community each year, providing approximately 28,000 hours of service. The university also has been named a Green College by The Princeton Review for 17 consecutive years.

Eastern welcomed a record 1,146 first-year students this fall. The university said 54 percent of the incoming class are the first in their families to attend college, while students represent 20 states and 28 countries.

About 91 percent of first-year students and 67 percent of all undergraduate students live on campus, according to the university.

The five most popular majors are health science, nursing, criminology, psychology and business administration.

U.S. News & World Report's rankings include more than 1,700 colleges and use multiple data sources and criteria. The national liberal arts college rankings consider 13 measures, including graduation and first-year retention rates, earnings by major, peer assessments, faculty salaries and financial resources.

The rankings also incorporate data from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, as well as institutional surveys.