2025 Best Liberal Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

Liberal Arts is of the hottest associate degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #1 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 79 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to determine which ones were the best for liberal arts students pursuing a associate degree. Combined, these schools handed out 13,071 associate degrees in liberal arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Liberal Arts School for Your Associate Degree

The liberal studies associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality liberal studies program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on liberal arts students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of liberal arts students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized liberal arts related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for liberal arts students working on their associate degree.

More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Liberal Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Liberal Arts in the Middle Atlantic Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in liberal arts. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

15 Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools for an Associate in Liberal Studies

1

New York University
New York, NY

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

12 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in liberal arts needs to check out New York University. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a associate in liberal arts from New York University

2

Chesapeake College
Wye Mills, MD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

68 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Chesapeake College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in liberal arts. Chesapeake College is a small public college located in the rural area of Wye Mills.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Chesapeake College

3

Suffolk County Community College
Selden, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

29 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Suffolk County Community College if you want to pursue an associate degree in liberal arts. Suffolk County Community College is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Selden.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Suffolk County Community College

4

SUNY Westchester Community College
Valhalla, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

105 Annual Graduates

SUNY Westchester Community College is a great decision for students interested in an associate degree in liberal arts. SUNY Westchester Community College is a moderately-sized public college located in the large suburb of Valhalla.More information about a associate in liberal arts from SUNY Westchester Community College

5

Montgomery College
Rockville, MD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

258 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Rockville, Montgomery College is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Montgomery College

6

Bergen Community College
Paramus, NJ

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

1,256 Annual Graduates

Bergen Community College is a fairly large public college located in the suburb of Paramus.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Bergen Community College

7

Anne Arundel Community College
Arnold, MD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

128 Annual Graduates

AACC is a large public college located in the large suburb of Arnold.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Anne Arundel Community College

8

Community College of Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

102 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Baltimore, CCBC is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Community College of Baltimore County

9

Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

12 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Rochester, RIT is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Rochester Institute of Technology

10

Nassau Community College
Garden City, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

54 Annual Graduates

Nassau Community College is a large public college located in the suburb of Garden City.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Nassau Community College

11

Community College of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

208 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Community College of Philadelphia is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Community College of Philadelphia

12

Hagerstown Community College
Hagerstown, MD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

153 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Hagerstown, HCC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Hagerstown Community College

13

Frederick Community College
Frederick, MD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

28 Annual Graduates

Frederick Community College is a medium-sized public college located in the small city of Frederick.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Frederick Community College

14

Corning Community College
Corning, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

29 Annual Graduates

Corning Community College is a small public college located in the rural area of Corning.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Corning Community College

15

Dutchess Community College
Poughkeepsie, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

49 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Poughkeepsie, DCC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a associate in liberal arts from Dutchess Community College

Rest of the Top Best Liberal Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Liberal Arts students in the Middle Atlantic Region that almost earned our Best Liberal Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region award.

Rank	College	Location
16	Borough of Manhattan Community College	New York, NY
17	Howard Community College	Columbia, MD
18	Genesee Community College	Batavia, NY
19	Tompkins Cortland Community College	Dryden, NY
20	Ocean County College	Toms River, NJ
21	Baltimore City Community College	Baltimore, MD
22	Rowan College at Burlington County	Mount Laurel, NJ
23	Community College of Allegheny County	Pittsburgh, PA
24	Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus	Teaneck, NJ
25	Jamestown Community College	Jamestown, NY
26	College of Southern Maryland	La Plata, MD

Best Liberal Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best liberal arts schools for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
New York	429	6,380
Pennsylvania	379	1,252
New Jersey	249	7,399
Maryland	221	1,920
Delaware	96	45
District of Columbia	46	56

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Liberal Studies

One of 3 majors within the Liberal Arts General Studies area of study, Liberal Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Liberal Studies

Related Major	Annual Graduates
General Studies	6,109
Individualized Studies	5,996
Humanities	2,360

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard). More about our data sources and methodologies.