Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is a public institution offering graduate degrees based in North Adams, Massachusetts. It enrolls 713 students (a small, tight-knit student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Every figure on this page is reported by the federal government, not supplied by the college, so it can be compared like for like against anywhere else you are looking.
AccreditorNew England Commission on Higher Education
Academic CalendarSemester
How It Measures Up
These four scores answer one question: compared with similar colleges, is this one worth the money? Each runs 0 to 100 and is judged only against its peer group (4-Year Selective), so a community college is never marked down for not being Harvard. Everything is computed from federal data. Nobody can pay to move a score, and a pillar with missing data is left unscored rather than guessed.
Good
65/100
UCD Score · 4-Year Selective
Outcomes41
Value61
Affordability70
Selectivity22
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts admits 89.7% of applicants, which makes it open to most qualified applicants, so admission is unlikely to be the hurdle.
Acceptance Rate
89.7%
Easy
SAT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
ACT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
Test PolicyTest OptionalApplicants choose whether to submit SAT or ACT scores.
5-Year Admission Trend
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Becoming less selective ↑
10.7 pts
since 2019
Cost & Financial Aid
Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. At $16,068 a year on average, it sits below what public colleges charge nationally. That still leaves most families a gap to cover, but a manageable one. Figures are College Scorecard 2023-24.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Tuition & Fees (in-state)
$12,436
Tuition & Fees (out-of-state)
$21,381
Room & Board (on-campus)
$15,386
Room & Board (off-campus)
$10,035
Books & Supplies
$1,000
Other Expenses (on-campus)
$2,290
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$2,290
Total Cost of Attendance
$26,026
Net Price by Family Income
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Under $30,000
$9,845
$30,001 – $48,000
$10,762
$48,001 – $75,000
$13,250
$75,001 – $110,000
$15,958
Over $110,000
$22,698
Debt at Graduation
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
$3,50010%percentile
$6,59825%percentile
$23,750Medianpercentile
$26,66875%percentile
$32,10590%percentile
Median Debt by Student Type
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
GroupDebtvs Median
Pell recipients $16,844
↓ $6,906
No Pell $15,000
↓ $8,750
Dependent students $15,750
↓ $8,000
Independent students $15,531
↓ $8,219
Female students $16,260
↓ $7,490
Male students $15,000
↓ $8,750
Worth knowing:
Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $7,500, less than completers ($23,750), but still a meaningful obligation without a degree in hand.
Graduation Rate & Retention
61% of students who start here finish within six years, and 72% come back after first year. Roughly half finish on that timeline, so budget for the possibility of a longer run. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.
6-Year Graduation Rate
61%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
72%
Returning for their second year
After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes
Ten years after starting here, the median student earns $48,102 a year, close to the national median. Typical for most colleges, so what you study will matter more than where. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$48,102
Earning > $25K
80%
10 yrs after entry
Earnings Growth After Graduation
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Earnings by Demographic
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
By Gender
Female graduates
$34,500
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Male graduates
$44,000
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
By Family Income at Entry
Family income (lowest third)
$33,200
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (middle third)
$40,600
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (highest third)
$39,300
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
The gender gap:
Male graduates earn $9,500, about 22% more than female graduates ten years out. The gap reflects industry mix, role choice, and structural pay differences that exist across most US colleges.
Loan Repayment Progression
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Climbing: graduates increasingly paying down debt ↑
13.6 pts
across 6 years
What this signals:
Strong. 79% of graduates are actively reducing their debt seven years out.
Who Studies Here
Who you would actually be sitting next to: 713 students, a small, close-knit community. Worth knowing: 33% are the first in their family to go to college.
Total Enrolled
713
Part-Time
8%
First-Generation
33%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
White 72.8%519
Black 8.7%62
Hispanic 6.7%48
Other 5.5%39
Asian 1.7%12
International 1.4%10
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts offers
a varied set of programs:
24 distinct programs across
15 majors.
Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings.
Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
There are 8 students for every instructor here: small classes, and staff who are likely to know your name.
Student : Faculty
8:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Instruction / Student
$24,607
Annual instructional spending per enrolled student
Endowment
$19M
Modest endowment
Avg Faculty Salary
$84,211
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Faculty by Rank
79 instructional faculty across 4 ranks.
The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
Rank
Faculty Count
Share
Avg Salary
Full Professors
34
43%
$100,742
Associate Professors
26
33%
$75,417
Assistant Professors
18
23%
$67,256
Instructors
1
1%
$56,000
Pros & Cons of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
No college is right for everyone. Here is where Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.
Best for:
Based on the data, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is a fit for
students who want a clear path to start college without a competitive admissions barrier; students who thrive in small, close-knit environments.
Frequently Asked Questions about Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
The questions families ask most about Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.
Is Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts hard to get into?
Not especially. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts admits most qualified applicants, with an acceptance rate of 89.7%. Plan around cost and whether students finish, not your odds of getting in.
What is the acceptance rate at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts?
89.7% of applicants are admitted. Most applicants who meet the basic requirements are admitted. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
How much does Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts cost?
Budget around $16,068 a year. That is the net price, what families typically pay once grants and scholarships come off, not the sticker price. Your own figure depends on household income, so treat this as a midpoint rather than a quote. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts worth it?
On the numbers, yes: moderate return on investment. Ten years in, the median graduate earns $48,102 a year against a net price of $16,068, about 3.0 dollars of earnings for every dollar of annual cost. That ratio ignores whether you finish and what you study, which matter just as much. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts known for?
Mostly Business Administration, Education, General, Psychology. Those are the fields where it awards the most degrees, which is a better guide to where the teaching strength sits than any reputation ranking. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What do Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts graduates earn?
About $48,102 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled. Half earn more and half earn less, and what you study moves that figure far more than where you study. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts accredited?
Yes. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is accredited by the New England Commission on Higher Education.
How many students attend Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts?
713 students. Small enough that you will recognize faces across campus, and small enough that course choice can be limited. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What is the graduation rate at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts?
61% finish within six years. That leaves a meaningful share who do not finish on that timeline, so budget for the possibility of a longer run. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Is Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts a public or private college?
It is Public. Public, so in-state students usually pay materially less than everyone else.
Where is Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts located?
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is located in North Adams, Massachusetts.
What programs does Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts offer?
24 different programs, most commonly Business Administration, Education, General, Psychology. If the subject you want is not among them, check the full list before applying rather than assuming it is offered.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts?
8 students per instructor. Low enough that staff are likely to know who you are. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Related Colleges in Massachusetts
Other colleges in Massachusetts share the same applicant pool, regional economy, and academic landscape. Comparing nearby options puts admissions, costs, and outcomes in context, useful when weighing your fit against local alternatives.
Information Systems
Psychology
Management Sciences
Related Guides
Free, data-backed guides to help you decide, built on the same federal data as this profile.
H
How to Build Your College List Pillar
The full process of narrowing from 3,811 US colleges to a shortlist of ~10. Cost, location, size, selectivity, and fit factors that actually predict whether you'll thrive.
What actually makes a college work for first-generation students, the support and aid signals that predict success, and how to find the schools that deliver them using federal data.
How to find the colleges that deliver the strongest return on a STEM degree by weighing earnings outcomes against net cost, rather than chasing the most selective name.
Original data analyses built on the same federal data as this profile. Rankings, outliers, and patterns, no opinions.
American Colleges by the Numbers
One federal dataset, 3,811 colleges. The median school costs $16,296 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,280 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Higher education data
Net price
College enrollment
Acceptance rate
College ownership
Do Selective Schools Actually Graduate More Students?
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
Graduation rate
Acceptance rate
Selectivity
Completion
College outcomes
For-Profit Colleges Charge the Most and Pay the Least
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
For-profit colleges
Net price
Earnings
College ROI
College ownership
Continue Exploring
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.
